Carrot Cake Muffins With Cheesecake Filling

Motown and Muffins

When I woke up this morning, my mom told me Aretha Franklin had passed away.  I couldn’t help feeling a little sad.  I’ve always loved Motown music, but all summer, I have been on a HUGE Motown kick.  It’s almost guaranteed that when I’m cooking it’ll be set to that playlist.  Of course, one cannot listen to a Motown playlist without listening to several Aretha songs.  My personal favorite is “Think” (the version feat. the Blues Brothers).  So today when I went to make these muffins, I set my Motown playlist so I could listen to all of my favorite Aretha songs in order and on repeat, to pay homage to one of the greatest voices of all time, the Queen of Soul.

These muffins remind me of one of my favorite fall treats, pumpkin cream cheese muffins.  That’s actually where I got the inspiration for them.  They taste like carrot cake with a rich and creamy cheesecake core, topped with toasted sugary pecans.

I hope you enjoy these muffins as much as my family did (Notice the past tense?  They’re almost gone!).  I also hope you take the time to listen to a few of Aretha’s greatest hits.  Which is your favorite?

Blessings on your home and table,                                                                                                                  ~Natalie

Carrot Cake Muffins With Cheesecake Filling

Serves 8

Ingredients:

Muffins:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup carrot puree, instructions to follow (about 2 large carrots)
• 1/4 cup milk

Cheesecake Filling

• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pecan Streusel Topping

• 1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.  Grease a muffin tin or line with muffin liners.
2. Roughly dice the carrots and place in a microwavable bowl with 1 Tablespoon of water.  Cover with a lid or microwavable plate.  Microwave on high heat for 4-6 minutes or until the carrots are soft.  Be careful – the bowl and plate will be extremely hot.  Place steamed carrots in a food processor or blender and pulse until pureed.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, carrot puree, and milk.
4. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
5. Cheesecake Filling:  Using an electric mixer, beat together all the ingredients for the cheesecake filling until smooth.
6. Pecan Streusel Topping:  In a small bowl, stir together all the ingredients for the pecan streusel topping.
7. Assembly:  Fill muffin liners 2/3 full with batter.  Place a Tablespoon of cheesecake filling on top of the batter.  Cover the cheesecake filling with more muffin batter.  Do not be afraid to fill the muffin tin all the way to the top.  Gently press a Tablespoon of the pecan streusel topping on each muffin.
8. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake another 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Let cool completely.*

*This method of changing the baking temperature midway through is courtesy of Sally’s Baking Addiction.

For more breakfast recipes, check out my cranberry orange scones!