Fall season is here! These tall, bakery-style pumpkin miso cream cheese muffins are full of pumpkin spice flavor. They're filled with a rich miso cream cheese filling and topped with a crunchy cinnamon streusel and pumpkin seed topping. Even better than the bakery and easily one of my all-time favorite pumpkin recipes.

Jump to:

• What is Miso?
• Why You'll Love This Recipe
• Equipment
• Ingredients
• Tips and Tricks for Moist and Fluffy Muffins
• Storage Instructions
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Recipe

What is Miso?

Miso is a fermented soybean paste that adds a rich umami flavor to dishes, and while it's a staple in East Asian cuisines like Japanese cooking, it's also surprisingly great in desserts. There are different types of miso, each with varying flavor intensities usually distinguished by color. For this recipe, we use white miso, which has a delicate, approachable flavor due to its shorter fermentation time. White miso's mild taste and light saltiness make it ideal for balancing sweet and earthy flavors in desserts, like in this pumpkin muffin with miso cream cheese filling.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Warm fall spices enhance the pumpkin flavor. A cozy blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves brings out the pumpkin.
• Incredibly soft and moist muffins. They have a slightly dense yet tender crumb.
• Rich miso cream cheese filling at the center. It adds a creamy contrast that pairs perfectly with the spiced pumpkin muffin.
• Crunchy cinnamon streusel and pumpkin seed topping. It gives a satisfying texture and a hint of sweetness on top.
• Easy one-bowl recipe. So simple to make and perfect for busy days!

Equipment

• Kitchen scale - Used to accurately weigh all ingredients as my recipe is mainly in grams.
• Hand mixer - Useful for thoroughly mixing the cream cheese filling. But a whisk by-hand will work!
• Spatula - Used to help gently fold the dry and wet ingredients in the batter together, avoiding overmixing and ensuring a light muffin texture. You may use a whisk when mixing only the wet ingredients, but switch to a spatula when you fold in the dry ingredients!
• Muffin pan - Be sure to have at least two pans so we can space out the muffins, baking six at a time. If not, you will need to bake these pumpkin miso cream cheese muffins in batches!
• Muffin liners - I chose these natural liners because they complement the color of the pumpkin miso cream cheese muffins. But any muffin or cupcake liner will work!
• Cookie scoop - A cookie scoop makes it easy to portion batter evenly, ensuring all muffins have a consistent size. For standard muffin tins, a #20 cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) typically fills each cup ¾ full.
• Pastry bags - Used to fill the cream cheese filling in the muffin. If you don't have any, you can use the corner of a ziplock bag.

Ingredients

Pumpkin Muffins

• All-purpose flour - This flour has the perfect amount of gluten to provide structure to the muffins while keeping them tender.
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Kosher salt - I always use Diamond Crystal's kosher salt. But if you're using regular table salt, I recommend halving the amount of salt called for in my recipe.
• Pumpkin pie spice - I make my custom blend using ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice. I talk about how to make this under "Tips and Tricks." If you don't have these on hand, store-bought pumpkin spice is fine too!
• Light brown sugar - Not only does it add a rich, molasses-like sweetness to the muffins, but helps to maintain moisture.
• Granulated sugar - Balances out the sweetness from the light brown sugar and helps achieve a slightly crisp muffin top.
• Flavorless oil and unsalted butter - The recipe uses a combination of oil and melted butter to create a moist texture while retaining buttery flavor. Make sure to use a flavorless, neutral oil like canola oil, sunflower oil, vegetable oil, or corn oil.
• Eggs - Helps emulsify the oil into the batter, creating moist muffins.
• Vanilla extract
• 100% pumpkin puree - Make sure you use 100% canned pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling! This allows you control the sweetness and spices in the recipe, as it contains only pumpkin with no added ingredients. Pumpkin pie filling, on the other hand, is pre-seasoned and sweetened, which can throw off the flavor balance and texture of these pumpkin miso cream cheese muffins. My go-to brand is Libby's or 365 by Whole Foods Market, but any pumpkin puree works!
• Pumpkin seeds - This is optional, but you can top the muffins with pepita seeds for more flavor and texture. I like to use Go Raw's sprouted pumpkin seeds.

Miso Cream Cheese Filling

• Cream cheese - Creates a creamy, tangy center that pairs beautifully with the pumpkin flavor. I use Philadelphia’s brick-style, full fat cream cheese. But any full fat cream cheese works!
• White miso - Although you don’t actually taste the miso in this recipe, it will most definitely bring out the umami and salty flavor that perfectly balances the sweetness overload of the cookie. Now you can find white miso at most large grocery chains in the international or Asian foods section. Also, your local Asian grocery stores usually have a wider variety of miso options, so check there too!
• Granulated sugar - Sweetens the filling for a delicious contrast with the tangy cream cheese and white miso.
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour - Helps thicken and stabilize the filling for a smooth, creamy texture. It also helps the cream cheese to maintain its shape during the baking. During my R&D, I found that adding flour to the filling made a significant difference, so don't forget to add ingredient!
• Kosher salt
• Whole milk - Helps achieve a smooth consistency for a creamy filling.

Cinnamon Streusel

• All-purpose flour
• Light brown sugar - Brings a rich sweetness to the streusel with hints of molasses.
• Granulated sugar - Provides extra sweetness and a bit of crunch.
• Cinnamon - The star spice of the streusel!
• Kosher salt
• Unsalted butter - Make sure your butter is melted when adding to your dry ingredients! This will help bind the ingredients together while creating a crumbly texture.

Storage Instructions

• Storing - Store these pumpkin miso cream cheese muffins in an airtight container to protect the muffins from drying out and keeping them fresh. Leave at room temperature for up to 3 days. I would avoid storing muffins in the refrigerator as it can dry out the muffins.
• Freezing - Place in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw the frozen muffins overnight or at room temperature before enjoying.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a different type of miso instead of white miso?

I recommend using white miso because it has a mild and slightly sweet flavor that complements the pumpkin muffins well. Red or darker miso varieties are stronger and saltier, which could overpower the muffins.

Why did my muffins come out dry?

Baking muffins for too long can lead to moisture loss, resulting in dry muffins. Keep an eye on the baking time and check for doneness a few minutes before the recommended time. Also, an oven thermometer can help verify that your oven is at the correct temperature.

Why didn't my muffins rise?

Make sure your leavening agents are fresh and not expired! Also, check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer to ensure it’s hot enough for proper muffin rising.

Why did the miso cream cheese filling deflate after baking?

If the miso cream cheese mixture was overmixed, it could have incorporated too much air, causing it to puff up during baking and then collapse as it cools. Also, if the cream cheese was too cold or not blended well, it may not have set properly during baking. Room temperature cream cheese should mix smoothly, allowing it to hold its shape better when baked.

Recipe