Pumpkin Duffins with Cream Cheese
Here is another version of our favorite healthy dessert- duffins. I wanted to make something for Halloween and the first thing I think of – is pumpkin. When I think of pumpkin, cream cheese frosting comes to mind- it really is a match made in heaven.
So, in order to make duffins, I decided to invert the two and use the cream cheese as a filling in the middle.
The result was delicious- well, eventually. I made one batch and had a few friends taste test for me and give me some critical analysis. My daughter is the most honest taste tester I have- she has no qualms about telling me when things are not right. She told me the duffins didn’t have enough pumpkin flavor and the filling tasted too much like cream cheese and not like a frosting. She was right- I had forgotten to add vanilla extract in the cream cheese mixture.
The second batch included more spiced including cinnamon, ginger and cloves. It also included the missing vanilla extract. The result was delicious.
Make these for halloween…
- 1 cup raw sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1½ cups white whole-wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup extra light olive oil
- ¾ cup 1% milk
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
Filling
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Keep aside.
Topping
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- ½ cup fine raw sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Lightly grease a 12 muffin tin with a bit of oil in each cup.
In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg till light and fluffy. Pour in vegetable oil, milk and pumpkin puree. Mix to combine.
In a small bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. Pour into the egg mixture and stir well.
Add a quarter cup batter in each cup. Add a teaspoon of cream cheese on top. Top each cup with the rest of the batter to cover the filling.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
While muffins are baking, melt butter in a small bowl. Pour ½ cup sugar into another small bowl.
Once the muffins are done, lightly brush the top with melted butter, remove from the pan and roll in the sugar, coating all parts of the duffin.
