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What more can I say about these Pumpkin Cheesecake Crunch Cakes other than simply amazing! These cakes are fluffy and moist with a creamy cheesecake center and the perfect crunchy top! They taste as sinful as they look, but are certainly not as sinful in nutrition. A perfect holiday dessert or even just because dessert. Lets be honest – us pumpkin lovers don’t eat these pumpkin desserts only around the holidays. We eat them year round.
I’m telling you, these are the best pumpkin cakes I have ever made and it was certainly one of those opportunities to pat myself on the back for it. I even got my husbands stamp of approval! And we all know the husband (and children) are your best and worst critics. We aim to please them, do we not?
Did I mention how scrumptious your house will smell as these bake away in your oven?
The nutrition on these is based on 12 mega cakes. Well, mega to me at least. But feel free to cut the recipe in half or bake as two dozen cakes! I stored these in an airtight container in my fridge for up to 5 days. I found it helped to keep them moist and soft in the center.
I use parchment paper liners. I highly recommend these. They are now a muffin tin staple in my kitchen. No
sticking. They peel/fall right off the muffin very easily. I don’t know about you, but I hate when a cupcake/muffin liner sticks!
sticking. They peel/fall right off the muffin very easily. I don’t know about you, but I hate when a cupcake/muffin liner sticks!
Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup Organic Coconut Palm Sugar (or brown sugar)
- 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 15 oz. can pumpkin puree (1)
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. unsweetened almond milk
Cheesecake Filling:
- 8 oz. container Tofutti Cream Cheese (or reg. cream cheese, softened to room temp, 1)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp. sweetener - sweeten to taste (I used powdered Stevia)
Crumb Topping:
- 1/3 cup pecans (chopped)
- 2 tbsp. coconut oil (melted)
- 2 tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
- 1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup Organic Coconut Palm Sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1 tbsp. unsweetened almond milk
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners.
- In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and coconut palm sugar. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, generously whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, coconut oil (melted), applesauce, vanilla extract and almond milk. Once thoroughly mixed, pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl of dry ingredients and stir well. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the chopped pecans, coconut oil (melted), applesauce, flour, cinnamon, coconut palm sugar and almond milk. Set aside.
- Scoop the cream cheese into a mixer (or whisk by hand) and whip until it has reached a creamy-like texture. Combine the egg, vanilla extract and stevia into the mixer with the whipped cream cheese and mix well. Set aside.
- Scoop 3 tablespoons of the pumpkin batter into each muffin liner and smooth out. The liners should be close to halfway filled.
- Layer approximately 1 tablespoon of the cheesecake filling onto the tops of the pumpkin batter and smooth out. If there is any remaining filling- fill to even out.
- Add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of the pumpkin batter to each muffin tin. Yes, you will fill the muffin liners up and over. Create a slight mound (like a muffin appears) by smoothing out the tops of each. Do not be afraid to press down slightly with the spoon to make sure that each crevice of the liner is filled. Spoon the pecan crunch mixture onto the top of each and press it down a bit if you need to in order to make sure it doesn't crumble (pun intended) and fall off the top.
- Bake the muffins for approximately 23-25 minutes, checking at 20 minutes with a toothpick. The toothpick should remove clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly so that the muffins can continue cooking on the inside and set properly.
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NUTRITION:
Calories:325kcal || Carbohydrates:42.2g || Protein:5.9g || Fat:15.5g || Saturated Fat:7.8g || Cholesterol:45mg || Sodium:329mg || Fiber:3.8g || Sugar:16.3g
Disclaimer:The nutritional information provided on each recipe on With Peanut Butter on Top is given as a courtesy and as approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Nutritional information varies per brand/product. We recommend using an app to calculate full and accurate nutrition based on your ingredients used per recipe. Thank you! 🙂
Hello Sammy,
I tried this recipe and absolutely love it. Thank you for posting! I have a quick question though, I would like to make these for someone that cannot have wheat. What flour would you suggest I use in place of that…perhaps almond flour? Thoughts?! Thanks!
Hey Kayla! So sorry for this long delay! I have been so busy getting my blogs content moved over from my old site to this new site and updated. As far as the replacement for the wheat flour, you could use oat flour (be sure to purchase gluten-free as some cross-contamination can occur in facilities) or as you suggested, almond flour would work well, too! I am not too familiar with the liquid difference in a recipe when it comes to swapping different flours, though. So make sure that it is a thicker batter consistency. I’m so glad you enjoy… Read more »
These were amazing!!! How do you store them for the next day?
Hey Anastasia! So very sorry for the late reply. As I responded to Kayla, I have been so busy converting my blog over. Thank you for asking this question! I have updated my blog entry to mention exactly how I stored these! Personally, I kept them in an airtight container in my refrigerator for up to 5 days.
I have regular whole wheat flour and while wheat pastry flour but not white whole wheat. Which one would make for the best consistency? Moist and not dense?
Hi Crishia! Regular WWF or WWPF would both work just fine as a substitute. I would lean more towards the pastry flour as I find it works best for baked goods, like these cakes, muffins, or regular cake! 🙂