Upside Down Inside Out Pumpkin Praline Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting Filling

I created this recipe for the 2nd Improv Cooking Challenge.  The mandatory ingredients were pumpkin and cream cheese.  I wanted to do something a little different and fun rather than just do a pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting.  So I came up with this upside down inside out pumpkin praline cupcake with cream cheese frosting filling.  They really do taste as good as they look.  And if you don't like cream cheese frosting, no problem, just leave it out.  Infact if you leave out the cream cheese frosting and serve these hot from the oven they taste like the most decedant pumpkin pudding cake with hot praline caramel.  It's a MUST try.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 15 oz can of pure pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Praline topping:
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Cream cheese frosting filling:
1/2 cup regualr cream cheese
1/2 cup whipped cream cheese
6 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

First, prepare the cream cheese frosting filling - Whip together cream cheeses and butter until combine well.  Add vanilla and mix in.  Next add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until you reach desired consistency.  Put frosting into a piping bag with a metal tip and set aside.

Next, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line muffin tins with aluminum liners.  Spray liners generously with non-stick cooking spray.  To make the prailine topping, place butter, heavy cream and brown sugar in a small saucepan on the stove.  Heat on med/hi heat and stir until butter is completely melted and ingredients are combined.  Take pan off stove and add in chopped pecan, stir to combine.  Spoon 2 teaspoon of prailine mixture into the bottom of the greased cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a large bowl beat egg, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla and cinnmamon.  Spoon pumpkin mixture into cupcake liners ontop of prailine mixture.  Fill liners 3/4 of the way up.  Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Once cupcakes are cool place your metal tipped pastry bag into the top of each cupcake and squeeze about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese frosting filling into each cupcake.  Once done, invert cupcake (topside down) onto a serving plate and carefully remove cupcake liner.  Serve with a fork!

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