Fresh Pumkin Cream Cheese Cupcakes

I merged two recipes from Kraftfoods.com. I was tipped off to this recipe by a great site, Blessed With Grace. I did not have a spice cake mix, so I used a yellow cake mix as well as this Pumkin Spice Cake recipe to help convert the yellow cake to a spice cake mix. If you do not have any pumpkin pie spice, you can use ingredients on hand using this recipe. The original Cream Cheese Pumpkin Cupcake recipe can be found here. 

 Fresh Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cupcakes

• 1 Yellow Cake Mix
• 1 pkg.  (4-serving size) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
• 1 cup mashed cooked fresh pumpkin or canned pumpkin
• 1/3 cup  oil
• 1 1/3 cup water
• 3   eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Cream Cheese Mixture

1 pkg.  (8 oz.)  Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar (I think brown sugar would be really good)

1   egg

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

Mix cake mix, pudding, spices, eggs, water, oil, and pumpkin using a hand mixer. Beat for 1 minute until combined on low and then for 2 minutes on medium. Pour into mini muffin tins, add dollops of cream cheese mixture (see below) bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Blend in sugar and egg; spoon over batter. Swirl gently with small spoon.