Now that I have finally conquered the elusive pot roast,* I have become more adventurous in the kitchen. Nothing wild, just a willingness to try something that sounds good even if I don’t know how it will turn out.
My most recent experiment was with cheesecake cupcakes. There is an adorable cupcake shop near my house that sells them, and I get one whenever I can get there before they sell out. They are a heavenly combination of yellow cake, cream cheese filling and cream cheese frosting. I am a huge sucker for sweet cream cheese. It makes my brain happy.
The other night I was ambling around my kitchen, hoping to find something sweet and I decided to give homemade cheesecake cupcakes a try. I checked my cookbooks to see in there was a recipe I could use, but I didn’t find anything that appealed. I did find a recipe for something similar, though, so I decided to be brave and try to make something up. The results were so deliciously wonderful, that I am sharing them with you. They are very sweet, I have a powerful sweet tooth and these were right on the line between “too sweet” and “just right,” but you can dial it back with a little less sugar in the filling or frosting.
Cheesecake Cupcakes
1 Package Yellow Cake Mix, and whatever it calls for to make a cake
8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 c Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
Prepare cake batter according to the directions.** In a separate bowl, mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. Fill cupcake tins about 2/3 full and add a spoonful of cream cheese mixture to each cake. Bake according to the directions for the cupcakes. They may need a minute or two longer than usual to bake fully. A toothpick won’t come out clean because of the filling, so check doneness by touching the tops and seeing if they spring back. Cool completely and frost with cream cheese frosting of choice.
I used the cream cheese frosting recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook, and I am not totally in love with it. It is super-sweet and a little runny, though that may be user error. Regardless, these are gushy, gooey pockets of wonderment, and I am not the least bit disappointed that no one else in my house likes cheesecake all that much.
*Up ’til recently, I have not been able to make a decent pot roast to save my life. I finally found a recipe that broke my curse and I have made, not one, but two awesomely delicious pot roasts with it.
**If you want to be really fancy, you can make your cake from scratch, just follow the directions like normal and add the filling.
6 replies on “OMG Cheesecake Cupcakes”
My cousin’s girlfriend made some for our Christmas dinner last year and they were awesome! I’m definitely jotting this recipe down.
Mmmmmm. You had me at “cream cheese.”
I bet these would also be incredible using chocolate cake mix. And then topped with strawberries and whipped cream. Hmm… Now what am I supposed to make tomorrow? Cupcakes or @Stephanie ‘s mousse from a couple weeks ago?
I am totally making these tomorrow after I go to the store. I’m out of powdered sugar due to yesterday’s frosting making.
I’m still working my way through my Nutella buttercream frosting. I totally would have made these cupcakes last night, but I didn’t have any cake mix.
There may have been a day or two when I got antsy and angry at people in front of me in traffic because I wanted so badly to get home and et one. I would find myself randomly fantasizing about them.