Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
A fun twist on cheesecake, a cupcake filled with sweetened cream cheese filling and topped with strawberry cream cheese frosting, for a light bright cheesecake flavor.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes with graham cracker crust
- 60 g gramhan cracker crumbs
- 30 g butter (melted)
- 18 g Granulated Sugar
- 59 g Sour Cream (room temperature, 1/4 cup + 3/4 teaspoon)
- 18 g Canola Oil (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon)
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 81 g Cake Flour (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons)
- 97 g Granulated Sugar (1/2 cup MINUS 2 teaspoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 51 g Unsalted Butter (room temperature, 1/4 cup MINUS 1/2 teaspoon)
- 2 Egg Whites (room temperature, in separate bowls)
- Cheesecake filling
- 50 g Cream Cheese (room temperature)
- 6 g Granulated Sugar
- 3 g Sour Cream (room temperature)
- 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 80 g Cream Cheese
- 40 g Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Salt
- 110 g Powdered Sugar
- 30 g Strawberry Preserves/Jam
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 325°F convection setting (or 350°F standard)
- Prepare your cupcake tray by adding paper liners or placing 6 silicon cupcake liners on top of a baking sheet
- Mix the melted butter and sugar into the graham cracker crumbs until a sandy texture
- Press graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner
- Bake for 5 mins and let cool completely
- While the graham cracker crusts cool, mix the cake batter:
- Measure the sour cream, canola oil and vanilla extract into a bowl and set aside
- In the bowl of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the dry ingredients together: cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt
- With the mixer on low, add the room temperature butter in small pieces to the dry ingredient mixer. Keep the mixer running until you create a sandy texture with the butter broken up into evenly sized pieces, about 2 and half minutes.
- Scrape down the bowl
- With the mixer on medium, slowly pour in the liquids mixture. The batter will look lumpy at this point, keep mixing until it is evenly combined.
- Scrape down the bowl, ensuring there are no clumps of flour stuck at the bottom of the bowl
- Add 1 egg white and mix on low until it is fully absorbed, about 1 minute
- Scrape down the bowl
- Add the second egg white and mix until it is fully absorbed
- Bake for 30 minutes at 325°F convection setting (or 350°F standard), until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
- Cool on a cooling rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan and then cool completely before filling & frosting- about 1 hour
Cheesecake Filling
- Using a spoon, mix softened cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and vanilla together.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of a mixer, combine softened cream cheese and butter, mixing until throughougly combined
- Add vanilla and a pinch of salt
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed
- Add the strawberry preserves and mix to combine, ensuring it is evenly distributed
Assembly
- When the cupcakes have fully cooled, cut out a hole in the top of each cupcake, you can use the back end of a piping tip, a specific cupcake corer tool or just a spoon. The goal is to have a hole about ¼ of the way down into the top of the cupcake so you can add the filling. (You do not need the cupcake centers so go ahead and eat them)
- Add a spoonful of the cheesecake filling to each of the holes in the cupcakes
- Pipe strawberry cream cheese frosting onto each of the cupcakes
- Enjoy!