Whisk the softened cream cheese until smooth and creamy.

Add sugar and vanilla extract, stir to combine. Chill in the fridge or freezer, while you make the muffin batter:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line 12 muffin cups with liners, or spray with baking spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, spices, baking soda, and salt. Add carrots and walnuts, stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine pineapple, milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla.

Add wet ingredient mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients, stir gently to combine - batter should be lumpy.

Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling each about ⅓ full.

Divide the filling between the muffin tins, aiming for a general tablespoon of filling in the center of each - leaving room around it.

Finally, divide the remaining batter between the muffin cups, allowing the batter to fully encase the filling.

Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 22 to 25 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. (Note: Only insert it about ⅓ of the way down. If you hit cream cheese, it’ll be wet no matter how done it is!)

Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes, before serving