Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins with Crumb Topping
The moment the air turns crisp, everything in our house needs to be pumpkin spiced. The season is short, so we make the most of it. Other than my pumpkin scones, these muffins are the fan favourite around here. And honestly, who does not love a bite of cream cheese in their muffin?
They start as a soft, warmly spiced pumpkin muffin. In the middle there is a spoonful of sweet cream cheese filling that bakes into a little pocket of cheesecake. On top is a cinnamon brown sugar crumb that turns crisp and buttery in the oven. It is a lot going on for one muffin. It works.
I bake these with our All-Purpose Red Fife flour, stone-milled fresh from certified organic Canadian prairie wheat. Red Fife has a mild, slightly nutty flavour that sits nicely next to cinnamon and pumpkin. It gives the muffins a tender crumb that still holds up to a heavy filling and topping. The same flour goes into the crumb topping too, so one bag covers the whole recipe.
Recipes
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins with Crumb Topping
For the Pumpkin Muffins
- 2 cupsAll-Purpose Red Fife flour (236 g)
- 1 tspBaking powder
- 1 tspBaking soda
- ½ tspSalt
- 2 tspGround cinnamon
- 1 tspPumpkin pie spice
- ½ cupBrown sugar, packed (110 g)
- ½ cupGranulated sugar (100 g)
- 2Large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cupPumpkin puree (245 g)plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling
- ½ cupNeutral oil (120 ml)
- ⅓ cupMilk (80 ml)
- 1 tspVanilla extract
For the Cheesecake Filling
- 6 ozCream cheese, softened (170 g)
- 3 tbspGranulated sugar (38 g)
- 1Large egg yolk
- ½ tspVanilla extract
For the Crumb Topping
- ⅔ cupAll-Purpose Red Fife flour (79 g)plus more as needed for a crumbly texture
- ⅓ cupBrown sugar, packed (70 g)
- 1 tspGround cinnamon
- ¼ cupUnsalted butter, melted (57 g)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- Make the crumb topping. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour in the melted butter and mix with a fork until it forms crumbs. If the mixture looks wet or pasty, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it breaks apart into small, pea-sized crumbs. Set aside.
- Make the cheesecake filling. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat until creamy with no lumps. Spoon the filling into a piping bag, or a zip-top bag with one corner snipped off. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, oil, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold gently with a spatula until just combined. A few small streaks of flour are fine. Do not overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin liners, filling each one about three-quarters full. Pipe the cheesecake filling into the centre of each muffin, dividing it evenly between all 12.
- Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the muffins, pressing it lightly into the batter so it stays put.
- Bake at 425°F (218°C) for 5 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350°F (177°C) and bake for another 15 to 17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the muffin (not the filling) comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then move the muffins to a wire rack to cool. The filling sets as they cool, so give them a little time before you bite in.
Why the Oven Starts Hot
The first 5 minutes at 425°F gives the batter a quick burst of heat. The outside sets fast and the muffins rise up into tall, rounded tops instead of spreading flat. Turning the oven down to 350°F lets the centres bake through gently, so the cheesecake filling stays soft and creamy instead of cracking or browning. Keep the oven door closed when you lower the temperature. Opening it lets out the heat that does all the work.
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