Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (Printer-Friendly)

Soft pumpkin muffins feature sweet cream cheese swirls for a moist, crowd-pleasing fall favorite ready in 30 minutes.

# What You’ll Need to Cook:

→ Pumpkin Muffin Batter

01 - 250 g all-purpose flour
02 - 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend (see note for blend substitution)
03 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
04 - 0.5 teaspoon fine salt
05 - 425 g pumpkin puree
06 - 130 g granulated sugar
07 - 100 g light brown sugar
08 - 120 ml vegetable oil
09 - 2 large eggs, room temperature
10 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ Cream Cheese Swirl

11 - 170 g full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
12 - 50 g granulated sugar
13 - 1 egg yolk, room temperature
14 - 0.5 teaspoon vanilla extract

# Steps to Prepare:

01 - Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until well blended. Add eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and fully incorporated.
03 - Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, gently folding until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Avoid overmixing to prevent dense muffins.
04 - Spoon the pumpkin batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
05 - In another bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add granulated sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix until creamy and homogeneous.
06 - Top each muffin batter with approximately 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture. Use a toothpick to gently swirl the cream cheese into the muffin surface, or simply dollop in center as desired.
07 - Bake in the centre of the oven for 18–20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin batter (not the cream cheese) comes out with only a few moist crumbs clinging.
08 - Allow muffins to cool in tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

# Extra Cooking Tips:

01 - Ensure cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature for smoother blending and optimal swirling.
02 - Avoid overfilling muffin liners to prevent overflow, as the cream cheese filling adds extra volume.
03 - For a homemade pumpkin spice blend: combine 4 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp ground cloves, 0.5 tsp nutmeg, and 0.5 tsp allspice.

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