Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

These muffins use pumpkin puree in a spiced batter, a cream cheese filling baked into the center, and a cinnamon sugar finish on top. The texture moves from lightly crisp tops to a moist crumb and a soft, tangy filling.

By Julienne

Cook time: 22 minutes

Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 250 g all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
• 5 g baking powder
• 3 g baking soda
• 3 g fine salt
• 6 g ground cinnamon
• 2 g ground ginger
• 1 g ground nutmeg
• 1 g ground cloves
• 150 g granulated sugar
• 100 g light brown sugar packed
• 240 g unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 120 ml neutral oil
• 2 each large eggs room temperature
• 10 ml vanilla extract
• 60 g plain yogurt
• 170 g cream cheese softened
• 30 g powdered sugar sifted
• 1 g fine salt
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• 20 g granulated sugar for topping
• 2 g ground cinnamon for topping
• 15 g melted butter for topping

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 190°C. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Oven fully preheated and muffin tin lined.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves until evenly combined. Dry ingredients look uniform with no visible spice streaks.
3. In a second large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, oil, eggs, vanilla, and yogurt until smooth. Mixture is glossy and evenly orange with no visible egg streaks.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and fold just until no dry flour remains. Do not overmix; a few small lumps are fine. Batter is thick, evenly mixed, and still slightly lumpy.
5. For the filling, stir the cream cheese, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth. Filling is creamy and spreadable with no lumps.
6. Mix the topping sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter in a small bowl until sandy and damp. Topping clumps lightly when pressed.
7. Divide half of the muffin batter among the 12 liners, using about 1 heaped tablespoon per cup. Add about 2 teaspoons of cream cheese filling to the center of each, then top with the remaining batter, dividing it evenly among the cups. Each cup is filled about three-quarters full with filling hidden in the center.
8. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar topping evenly over the muffins. Tops are visibly coated with cinnamon sugar.
9. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the tops spring back lightly and a tester inserted into the muffin crumb, away from the filling, comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Muffins are domed, set, and lightly golden at the edges.
10. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Muffins release cleanly and the filling is set enough to hold its shape.