Spiced pumpkin bread, meets tangy cheesecake, meets chewy & airy focaccia in my cozy pumpkin cheesecake focaccia! The no-knead dough is made with pumpkin puree and a cinnamon sugar swirl, then gets topped with an easy cheesecake filling and crushed graham crackers for an impressive fall dessert.
Pumpkin Bread Meets Cheesecake in this Sweet Focaccia
The first frost of the season always sends me straight to the kitchen craving something with cinnamon and pumpkin that tastes like a warm hug. But pumpkin bread gets a little too sweet for me, and cheesecake means an overnight chill and a water bath that still could still end up cracked on top. So I created this pumpkin cheesecake focaccia to marry all those flavors together, and hold on to its rustic chewy, yeasty depth. It's the cozy fall dessert I make to surprise everyone at Thanksgiving, and all it takes is a spoon, a mixing bowl, and very little hands-on time.
This dessert focaccia took some serious testing to get right though. My first batch was airy on top but dense and gummy on the bottom, and the culprit was far too much moisture in the dough. Dropping the water while keeping a full cup of pumpkin puree brings the hydration to about 82%, while still adding that gorgeous orange color. I also swapped all-purpose for bread flour, which soaks up more of that water and builds a stronger dough to hold up the heavy cheesecake and graham cracker topping.
For the cinnamon sugar swirl in the middle, I first tested it with the same amount from my pumpkin cinnamon roll focaccia, where it makes a gooey, syrupy ribbon. But under the weight of cheesecake, it compacted and trapped steam, which left the bottom raw. Cutting the brown sugar in half keeps the ribbon without weighing the dough down, and it tastes more balanced. Just be sure to leave a 1-inch border around the edges when sprinkling on the cinnamon sugar, so dough seals onto dough and the sugar stays put instead of leaking out and caramelizing directly on the pan.
Finally, there's that tangy, luscious cheesecake topping. My original cheesecake focaccia uses a slightly runnier filling that's chilled first, so it coats the dough completely and bakes into distinct layers. Here, when I covered it edge to edge with cheesecake, the bread underneath stayed underbaked, because the steam had nowhere to go between the added moisture from pumpkin + brown sugar swirl. The solution was piping the filling in ribbons, which leaves gaps for steam to escape and the dough sets all the way through.
Let's Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Focaccia!
Avoid Dense Bottoms
Here's a photo from one of the recipe tests, where the top half baked up nice & fluffy, while the bottom remained gummy & dense. I designed this recipe to get it perfectly baked throughout now, so if you have any questions about ingredient swaps, let me know!
Tips for Fluffy Pumpkin Focaccia with Crispy Edges
- If your pumpkin puree looks really watery, spread it on a plate and blot it with paper towels. I've found that different brands can vary in the amount of moisture they contain.
- Use pumpkin puree at room temperature so it doesn't slow the yeast down. And don't swap in pumpkin pie filling, which adds a lot more sugar.
- For the first one to two sets of stretch and folds, the dough will probably be pretty soft and won't stretch very much. But by the third and fourth, the dough will build more gluten and stretch farther.
- This dough will feel sticky (that's on purpose to get that open, airy crumb) so wet your hands with cold water or lightly grease them with olive oil to prevent the dough from clinging to you.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Focaccia
developed & tested by:
Equipment
Ingredients
Pumpkin Focaccia
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- ¾ cup warm water (between 105-115°F or 40-46°C)
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups bread flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1½ teaspoons salt (use fine sea salt or table salt)
- 4 tablespoons melted butter (for greasing the baking dish)
Cinnamon Swirl Filling
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Cheesecake Topping
- 8 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature (one block)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 9 graham crackers, crushed (one sleeve; makes about 1¼ cups)
Instructions
Mix & Stretch-and-Fold the Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the active dry yeast, brown sugar, and warm water. Set aside for 10 minutes, until it's foamy on top. (If it's not foamy, check your yeast packet, as it might be expired.)
- Mix the pumpkin puree, olive oil, and vanilla extract into the foamy yeast mixture.
- Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, and salt and mix for a minute with a large wooden spoon or silicone spatula until it forms a soft, sticky dough.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a dinner plate for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Fold 1: Use your hand to scoop a handful of dough from underneath, up one side, up out of the bowl as far as you can stretch it without tearing, then fold it over itself on top. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat another stretching of the dough up and folding over itself. Repeat rotating the bowl and stretching & folding the dough twice more, until you've completed four stretch-and-folds.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a dinner plate for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Fold 2: Repeat the process for four stretch-and-folds. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a dinner plate for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Fold 3: Repeat the process for four stretch-and-folds. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a dinner plate for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Fold 4: Repeat the process for four stretch-and-folds.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a dinner plate for 1 hour until it doubles in size and looks bubbly on top.
Shape, Fill, and Proof the Dough
- Cinnamon Swirl Filling: In a small bowl, combine ½ cup of brown sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Set aside.
- Spread four tablespoons of melted butter on the bottom and up the sides of a 9x13 metal baking dish.
- Dump the dough from your mixing bowl onto the center of the baking dish and press it down flat into all the edges and corners.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon filling evenly on the dough, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Pick up one of the short edges and fold the dough in half, and gently press the edges to seal the cinnamon sugar inside. Gently swivel the dough 90 degrees in the baking dish, so the long edges of the dough match up with the long edges of the baking dish, then gently press it out again to all the edges.
- Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the dough has really puffed up and jiggles when you shake the baking dish.
Make the Cheesecake Topping
- In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the softened cream cheese until it's creamy, after 2-3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and cornstarch, and mix again until it's light and fluffy, after 1-2 minutes.
- Add the salt, vanilla extract, and egg yolk then mix again on low speed until it's smooth and fully combined.
Add Cheesecake Toppings and Bake
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C).
- Pipe the cheesecake filling over the dough. Sprinkle the crushed graham crackers on top.
- Use your fingers to dimple the dough, pressing the cheesecake topping & graham crackers into it. Aim to have your fingers spread out by 1-inch and press halfway down into the baking dish.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C), and bake for another 35-40 minutes, or until the bread reaches at least 200°F (93°C) when a kitchen thermometer is inserted into the middle.
- Let it cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Storing: Because of the cream cheese topping, this focaccia needs to go in the fridge once it's cooled. Cover the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap or move slices to an airtight container. And leftovers stay moist and delicious when served at room temperature.
- Equipment: Use a metal pan here. It runs hotter than ceramic or glass and sends more heat to the bottom of the dough so it bakes fully under the weight of the cinnamon sugar filling and cheesecake topping.Â
This website uses affiliate links which may earn commission for purchases made at no additional cost to you.
I'm eggcited to hear from you :)