Pumpkin week is almost over. 🙁 Only today and tomorrow and then what’s my excuse for making mass amounts of pumpkin flavored food? Oh yeah, Thanksgiving!! For today’s pumpkin recipe, I made Cheesecake-Stuffed Pumpkin Cupcakes. Cheesecake is probably my 2nd favorite type of dessert. How could I not like a pumpkin cupcake with cheesecake in it? They turned out great! Next time I make them (because there will be a next time), I might ease off the butter in the frosting…it’s quite decadent. I hope you enjoy these cupcakes!

***These can be turned into Gluten-Free cupcakes if you just swap out the flour with a GF flour. If you’re in need of more GF recipes, head over to Silvana’s Kitchen (the source of this recipe) and it’ll be like you hit the lotto of GF recipes. 🙂

Cheesecake-Stuffed Pumpkin Cupcakes Print Recipe Here

From: Silvana’s Kitchen
Makes: 12

Ingredients

One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
2 large eggs, plus 5 large egg whites
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, divided
1 ½ cups flour (*for Gluten Free cupcakes, use a GF Flour)
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup light brown sugar
Simmering water
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces and chilled

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 ° and place your oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Prepare your cupcake pan by lining it with 12 cupcake liners.

For your cheesecake filling to the cupcake, add your cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar to a medium-sized bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 3 minutes. Add in 1 egg white and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and beat until combined.

For your pumpkin cupcake batter, whisk together your flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a medium-sized bowl. In a large bowl, mix together your pumpkin puree, 2 whole eggs, granulated sugar, oil, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Whisk the flour mixture into this pumpkin mixture until combined.

Using a small cookie-scoop, add a scoop of pumpkin batter to each cupcake liner. Then add a spoonful of the cheesecake filling, followed by another layer of the pumpkin batter. Bake the cupcakes about 25 minutes or until the center springs up to the touch. Let them cool before frosting.

For your frosting, place a medium saucepan on your stove-top and bring about 1-inch of water to a simmer. Add the brown sugar, 4 egg whites, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt to a medium-sized bowl and beat with a mixer. Place the bowl with the brown sugar mix on top of the pan of simmer water. Whisk the mixture continuously until a thermometer reads 160°.

Beat the heated brown sugar mix on high-speed until it is fluffy. Now lower the speed and beat for about 5 minutes, until the mixture comes down to room temperature. Add your butter, 1 tablespoon at a time while beating on high-speed. After 5 minutes, beat in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

Add your frosting to a pastry bag and pipe the frosting onto your cooled cupcakes. Refrigerate any leftovers. Enjoy!

Add cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar to a medium bowl.

Beat for 3 minutes.

Add 1 egg white and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla (I used a clear vanilla).

Beat until combined.

Whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl.

Add pumpkin puree, 2 eggs, granulated sugar, oil and 1 teaspoon of vanilla to a large bowl.

Mix together.

Now you’re ready to fill up the cupcake liners.

Place a little pumpkin batter into each of the liners.

Add a spoonful of the cream cheese mixture.

Top with another scoop of the pumpkin batter.

Ready for the oven. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the center springs up to the touch.

All done! Don’t they look delicious? Be patient though, let them cool before you frost them.

Add brown sugar, 4 egg whites, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt to a bowl.

Beat until combined.

Place the brown sugar mix on top of a pan of simmering water.

Whisk until a thermometer reads 160.

Beat on high-speed until fluffy. I transferred it to my Kitchen Aid mixer because there’s a lot of beating that the frosting needs and I didn’t feel like using the hand mixer anymore. 🙂