Cream Cheese Sweet Bread is a breakfast treat that is made with yeast-leavened dough topped with a cream cheese filling, crumble, and drizzled with icing. Try my Cream Cheese Banana Bread for another yummy morning treat.
Cream Cheese Sweet Bread
This sweet bread is a delicious morning treat that is similar to a store-bought Danish pastry. In fact, I was inspired by J. Skinner’s Heavenly Cheese Danish. This bread may not exactly be a pastry but definitely falls into the sweet bread category. It starts with leavened dough and then it’s topped with a cream cheese mixture and crumble topping. Finally, the icing on the bread, literally, is sweet icing made with confectioners’ sugar.
Sweet Bread Ingredients
There are four parts to this breakfast bread–the dough (which is an adaptation of my Focaccia bread), cream cheese filling, crumble, and the icing.
Warm Water: When adding warm water to the yeast, the temperature should be between 90°F and 110°F.
Cream Cheese Filling: This cream cheese filling will be added on top of the dough.
Crumble Topping: This couldn’t be easier but adds something amazing to a breakfast bread like this or my Lemon Cream Cheese Coffee Cake.
Icing: The icing, or glaze, is made with just two ingredients–confectioners’ sugar and milk.
Can I Make This Ahead of Time?
Yes, you can make this cream cheese sweet bread ahead of time. It tastes delicious fresh out of the oven but even better on the next day after it has been warmed slightly. Store it covered at room temperature (or in a cold place if it’s a hot day). It will keep fresh for 2-3 days.
More Breakfast Recipes
Cream Cheese Sweet Bread
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup water, warmed (about 110-115°F)
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2½ cups (312.5 g) all-purpose flour
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
Crumble
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- ¾ cup (94 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (42 g) confectioners' sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Icing
- 1 cup (125 g) confectioners' sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature
Instructions
Dough
- In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, and sugar. Stir and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Add oil and flour; stir to combine.
- Add dough to a greased bowl and cover with a tea towel. Let the dough rest for 40 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- While the dough is rising, make the filling and crumble.
Cream Cheese Filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand-held mixer, combine the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the filling to a piping bag with a large round tip and set it aside. (You could also just simply cut off the end of the piping bag.)
Crumble
- Using a food processor, fork, or clean hands; combine butter, flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Make sure the butter is broken down and no larger than a pea when you are done. Set aside.
Assembly and Baking
- Preheat oven to 450°F and spray an 11×15-inch sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add dough to the prepared pan and work it to the edges.
- Pipe the cream cheese filling on the dough in three vertical lines, leaving about 2 inches of space between each line.
- Top evenly with the crumble and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
- Let the sweet bread cool for 10-15 minutes before icing.
Icing
- In a medium bowl combine confectioners sugar and milk. Add more milk (one teaspoon at a time) to reach your desired consistency.
- Drizzle the icing over the sweet bread or use a piping bag with a fine tip.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
This was excellent. I added a bit of vanilla to the cream cheese, but the sugar/cream cheese ratio was perfect. The bread doesnt have much flavor but it is expected for something this sweet. Overall nice recipe.
Absollute 👍👍share more recipe🙏
Does this freeze well?
Could you use a can of Crescent rolls with the seams pinched closed for the bread part to make this an easier alternative?