A pumpkin cupcake with a cheesecake filling is drizzled with caramel. Pumpkin Caramel Cheesecake Cupcakes are an irresistible fall treat!
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I’m sure that most of you are familiar with OXO. If you’ve ever walked into a Bed, Bath, and Beyond and have seen all those cool kitchen gadgets lining their walls, that’s OXO. They are pretty hard to miss. I have been a loyal OXO customer for years and my kitchen gadget drawer is stuffed full of a bunch of their items.
This year I’m one of the many bloggers participating in OXO’s Bake A Difference campaign. Together with Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, they have been working hard for years to help raise funds to fight pediatric cancer. Where do food bloggers come in? For each blog post written this month in support of this program, OXO is donating $100 to this wonderful cause.
We were asked to share a cookie, brownie, or cupcake recipe and in exchange OXO sent us out a kit of awesome tools. I went with cupcakes and received all of the above goodies.
The best part is that OXO is making a .25 cent donation for each and every tool sold bearing the Cookies for Kids’ Cancer logo . This includes all of the items shown above and many more.
So, with no further ado, let’s get started on these decadent, fall inspired cupcakes.
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium mixing bowl.
Grab a big mixing bowl and your handy, dandy, electric hand mixer and cream together the softened butter with white and brown sugars. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is well incorporated.
Add the dry ingredients, a little at a time, beating on low just until combined. Scrape those sides down again, if necessary.
In goes the sour cream, and…mix.
Finally, the star of the show, the pumpkin. We are talking canned pumpkin puree here. Do not grab the canned pumpkin filling by mistake. It’s an easy mistake to make.
Our luscious, creamy cupcake batter is ready to go.
Line your cupcake tins with liners and fill them about 3/4 full. You should have about 18 total.
Bake them at 350 degrees for about 16 to 19 minutes. This batter bakes up beautifully. Remove the tins from the oven when a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
Allow the cupcakes to cool in the tins for about 5 or 10 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
When they have completely cooled, use the clever OXO Cupcake Corer to remove the center section of each cupcake. Twist it in…
…and pull it out. The cupcake core will easily eject from the corer by pushing on the large button on top. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.
Time to whip up the cheesecake filling. Beat together the softened cream cheese, sour cream, confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla till nice and creamy.
Use a pastry bag with a decorative tip to fill each cupcake with some of the filling, ending with a decorative swirl on top. I am not, I repeat, I am not a cake decorator. I am certain that each and every one of you can do a much better job on your swirls.
Sprinkle each cupcake with some finely chopped walnuts. We could stop here, but why would we do that when there is caramel in this world?
Use a fork to drizzle some caramel ice cream topping over the top of each cupcake.
Woops, that one on the left there got a little too much caramel. I’ll eat that one.
Pumpkin, caramel, and cheesecake. A fantastically fall flavor combination.
Pumpkin Caramel Cheesecake Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Cupcakes
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ¼ cup light sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 15 ounce can pure pumpkin puree , (not pie filling)
- ½ cup walnuts, finely chopped (for garnish)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping, for garnish
For the Cheesecake Filling
- 16 ounces ⅓ less fat Neufchatel or regular cream cheese, (2 8-ounce packages) room temperature
- 2 tablespoons light sour cream
- 1 ¼ cups confectioners sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
The Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy and well combined, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Add eggs and beat until well combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, a little at a time, alternating with the sour cream. Add pumpkin and beat for another minute or two until just combined.
- Divide the batter evenly among the lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake until golden brown, about 16 to 19 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to wire racks to cool completely.
Cheesecake Filling
- With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the cream cheese and sour cream until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and then the lemon juice and vanilla, and mix until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
Fill and Garnish the Cupcakes
- Use a cupcake corer to remove the middle section of each cupcake and using a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip, pipe the cheesecake filling (instructions below) into the cupcake, finishing it off with a decorative swirl on the top. Sprinkle with finely chopped walnuts and use a fork to drizzle cupcakes with a little caramel ice cream topping.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Like this? Please rate & comment below!
Cake portion of recipe inspired by Shugary Sweets
These cupcakes look beautiful and marvelous! I love OXO products as well.
Those look amazing! I can’t wait to try them. Wonder if you could make a small batch of cake balls with the cored portion. May not be enough…plus, I have a feeling I they would disappear before I could make them.
Those look like total deliciousness!
And I’m just wondering what you did with the insides to the cupcakes? Hmmmmm?? LOL!
Just exactly what are you trying to say Kelly 😉