Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Mousse Muffins

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line alternating cups of standard muffin pans, leaving an empty cup between muffins so their tops have room to rise. Use tall tulip parchment liners for 10 large muffins or regular paper liners for about 15 regular muffins.
2. Make the pecan crumble: combine the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt. Add the cold cubed butter and vanilla bean paste. Work together with your fingertips until evenly combined and the mixture holds together when squeezed. Stir in the chopped pecans and refrigerate while making the batter.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, pumpkin puree, room-temperature Greek-style yogurt and milk, vanilla bean paste, and pumpkin spice emulsion until smooth.
4. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and ginger. Add to the wet ingredients and gently mix just until no dry streaks remain.
5. For the 10 large tulip-lined muffins, divide the batter among the liners, filling to the level of the metal pan rim. For about 15 regular muffins, fill regular liners about three-quarters full.
6. Divide all the chilled pecan crumble evenly over the muffins without pressing it down. The crumble will look tall on the large muffins. For regular liners, distribute it up to the top of the liners.
7. Bake at 350°F (175°C). Begin checking the large tulip-lined muffins at 22 minutes or regular muffins at 18 minutes. Continue baking until a tester inserted into the muffin center comes out clean or with moist crumbs, without wet batter. These are first-check times, not fixed finished bake times.
8. Let the muffins cool in the pans for 5-10 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely before coring or filling.
9. Make the cheesecake base: beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Mix in the sifted unfortified nutritional yeast, mild miso paste, vanilla extract, plain unsweetened yogurt, and salt. If making the dairy-free version, add the two small pinches of food-grade lactic acid powder.
10. Cover and refrigerate the finished mousse until the muffins are completely cool and ready to fill.
11. Use a small round cutter or a wide piping tip to cut into the center of each cooled muffin without cutting through the bottom. Lift out the core with a small spoon, keeping the base and sides intact.
12. Transfer the chilled mousse to a piping bag and pipe it into each cavity. Keep the mousse chilled while you work, then cover and refrigerate the filled muffins until serving.

Helpful notes

• I use tall tulip parchment liners in standard muffin pans for 10 large muffins. Fill the batter to the level of the pan rim and divide all the crumble evenly among them. It will look tall, which is the look shown in the photos.
• With regular liners, fill about three-quarters full with batter and add crumble up to the top of the liners. Expect about 15 regular muffins.
• Line alternating cups so there is an empty cup between muffins. Begin checking large muffins at 22 minutes or regular muffins at 18 minutes, then use the center tester check to decide when they are finished.
• Please do not leave these out. They are essential to the cheesecake flavor I worked so long to get. Use mild white or yellow miso and sift the unfortified nutritional yeast.
• For the dairy-free version, I highly recommend two small pinches of food-grade lactic acid powder in the mousse. A little goes a long way.
• Cool the muffins completely before coring and filling. Keep the bottom intact so the mousse stays inside.
• Store the filled muffins covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator at 40°F (4°C) or below for up to 3 days. Keep the mousse refrigerated while you work and return filled muffins to the refrigerator promptly. Limit time out of refrigeration to 2 hours, or 1 hour when the temperature is above 90°F (32°C).
• Freeze the completely cooled, baked muffins with their pecan crumble before coring or filling, for up to 2 months. Keep their liners on, wrap each muffin well, and place them in a freezer container or bag without crushing the crumble. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, still wrapped. Once completely thawed, unwrap, core, and fill with freshly made chilled mousse, then keep refrigerated.