No Refined Sugar Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
These pumpkin cream cheese muffins were one of those recipes that surprised me in a really good way. They are made with Lakanto Baking Sweetener and Lakanto Powdered Sweetener, so they have no refined sugar, but they still felt like a real dessert.
The pumpkin batter stayed soft and moist, and the cream cheese swirl added a nice rich texture. I was especially happy that the sweetener taste was not obvious at all in this recipe.
Recipe at a Glance
Prep time assumes the cream cheese is already softened.
A Few Helpful Notes
Let the cream cheese soften first so the filling mixes smoothly.
Make sure you are using plain pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling.
Since the cream cheese part stays softer, check the pumpkin cake portion near the edge instead of poking straight through the middle.
I used Lakanto Baking Sweetener in the batter and Lakanto Powdered Sweetener in the cream cheese mixture.
Ingredient amounts and yield update automatically. Baking time stays about the same when baking individual muffins, but a larger batch may need to be baked in multiple pans.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Batter
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup Lakanto Baking Sweetener
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Mixture
- 8 oz full-fat cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup Lakanto Powdered Sweetener
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Visual Guide
A quick look at the main layering steps before baking.
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Instructions
1. Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, all-purpose flour, Lakanto Baking Sweetener, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
3. Mix the wet ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract.
4. Make the pumpkin batter Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
5. Make the cream cheese mixture. In a separate bowl, mix the softened cream cheese, Lakanto Powdered Sweetener, egg yolk, soft butter, and vanilla until smooth.
6. Add the first layer of batter Spoon a layer of pumpkin batter into each cupcake liner.
7. Add the cream cheese layer Add a spoonful of the cream cheese mixture on top of each one.
8. Top and lightly swirl Top with more pumpkin batter and lightly swirl the top.
9. Bake. Bake for about 22–26 minutes. Since the cream cheese part stays softer, check the pumpkin cake portion near the edge for doneness.
10. Cool. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then move them to a wire rack.
FINISHED RESULT
Moist Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Swirl
These muffins stayed soft and moist, and the cream cheese swirl gave them a nice rich texture. Even though they are made with Lakanto sweetener and no refined sugar, they still felt like a real dessert.
They were also still good chilled from the refrigerator, and the cupcake stayed soft and moist inside.
Sunny Table Notes
- No noticeable cooling aftertaste. Erythritol-based sweeteners can sometimes create a cooling sensation, but I did not notice it in this recipe.
- Still moist when chilled. I tested one straight from the refrigerator and the cupcake stayed soft and moist inside.
- The pumpkin batter stayed moist. The pumpkin purée and almond flour worked really well together here.
- The cream cheese mixture added richness. Cream cheese, vanilla, a little butter, and egg gave it a more cheesecake-like texture.
- The sweetener was not obvious. No one eating them realized they were made with Lakanto until I mentioned it.
- Freezer test is still in progress. I tested them fresh and chilled already, and I am still testing frozen, defrosted, and rewarmed.
