Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling

A few weeks ago I mentioned on The Sweets Life Facebook page that I was in the mood to start my pumpkin baking for the season. Since then I've baked several different pumpkin recipes, some new, some old, but this was the inaugural recipe for the season!
If you've been reading here very long, you know that cupcakes aren't really my thing when it comes to baking. My issues stem not from taste, but from appearance. Thus, I was a little hesitant to bake with the cupcake tools OXO sent me. However, in exchange for a blog post they promised to donate $100 to the Cookies for Kids' Cancer foundation, and that is one cause I can't resist! I love how dedicated OXO is to supporting this mission, so much so that for each of their Bake a Difference products sold, OXO will donate 25 cents to pediatric cancer research!
I was excited to use the new OXO cupcake corer to remove the centers of my pumpkin cupcakes so that I could stuff them with a cinnamon cream cheese filling. Unfortunately I couldn't quite get the hang of the corer; it cuts perfectly shaped pieces but the contraption didn't remove them in one fell swoop as I expected. It was no big deal--I just used a little spoon to remove the cut middle once I used the corer. (For those without a corer, you can just cut out a little section with a paring knife!)
These pumpkin cupcakes were such a hit that I got a whopping one bite of one...the rest disappeared before I had a chance to sample another. From the bite I got, and what I heard, these have reinvigorated my hope in myself when it comes to cupcakes! They don't look half bad, and even if my frosting technique isn't perfect, who's going to complain when you're enjoying a spiced pumpkin cupcake with both a cinnamon cream cheese filling and buttercream!

Note--This post was not sponsored by OXO. They provided me cupcake tools, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

One Year Ago: Chicken, Apple, and Sage Pesto Sandwiches & Cinnamon French Toast Ice Cream
Two Years Ago: Mexican Baked Eggs with Black Beans, Tomatoes, Green Chilies, and Cilantro & Snack Bars
Three Years Ago: Cinnamon Raisin French Toast with POM Syrup & Cooking Lobster/Shucking Oysters
Four Years Ago: Apricot Bran Bread & Cinnamon Cranberry Almond Oat Pancakes

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling
cake from Color Hungry, frosting my own creation
Printer-Friendly Recipe
Ingredients:
-1 stick butter (melted)
-1/4 cup canola oil
-4 eggs (at room temperature)
-3/4 cup brown sugar
-1 cup granulated sugar
-1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
-1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
-1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
-2 cups flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt

for the cream filling
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-1/2 cup confectioners sugar
-8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

for the frosting
-remaining cream filling
-1 stick butter, at room temperature
-2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Add eggs to a mixing bowl and beat for 30 seconds. Add the melted butter, both sugars, vanilla, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice. Beat mixture until well combined. With mixer on low, add vegetable oil and continue mixing. Stir in baking powder, baking soda,a nd salt.
2. Add the flour a little at a time, beating completely before adding more and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
3. Divide batter between 24 lined muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 of the way. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffin tins to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing individual cupcakes to cool completely on wire racks.
4. To prepare the cream filling, beat whipping cream, confectioners sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and cinnamon until smooth and creamy. Once cupcakes are completely cool, use a paring knife or an Oxo cupcake corer to cut out the center of each cupcake, reserving the pieces. Use a small spoon or a pastry bag to insert cream into the center of each cupcake. Use the reserved cupcake pieces (you'll probably have to cut or break off the middle and just reserve the very top) to cover the filling.
5. To make the frosting, add butter to remaining cream filling and beat until smooth. Add confectioners sugar, a 1/2 cup at a time, until smooth. Beat in cinnamon and vanilla (add additional cinnamon, to taste). Pipe or spread frosting onto cupcakes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.