Vanilla Cheesecake Cupcakes
These vanilla cheesecake cupcakes draw inspiration from the creamy goodness of a classic cheesecake, transformed into a light and fluffy cupcake. They are made with a buttery biscuit base, a light and airy cream cheese sponge topped with a low-sugar cream cheese frosting. These cupcakes have a balanced blend of creaminess and moisture, combined with a cheesy, tangy and refreshing flavour, making them an irresistible treat.
Equipment
- 01 Weighing Scale
- 01 Stand Mixer with paddle attachment or Hand Mixer
- 12 Standard cupcake liners
- 01 Chopping board and knife
- 01 Blender or Food Processor optional
- 01 Ziplock Bag and rolling pin optional
- 01 Zester
- 01 Sifter
- 01 Piping tip (of your choice) optional
- Bowls
- Fork & spoons
- Spatula
Ingredients
Buttery biscuit base
- 145 grams Marie biscuit or graham crackers
- 80 grams Unsalted Butter melted
- 15 grams Castor Sugar
Vanilla Cheesecake Cupcake
- 138 grams All-Purpose Flour
- 05 grams Baking Powder
- 03 grams Baking Soda
- 03 grams Salt
- 132 grams Castor Sugar
- 138 grams Whole Eggs
- 109 grams Unsalted Butter* softened
- 67 grams Cream cheese* softened
- 03 grams Lemon Zest
- 03-05 ml Pure Vanilla Extract
Low-Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting - Link to recipe
Instructions
Preparation -
- For the buttery biscuit base
- Chop and weigh the unsalted butter in a bowl.
- On a double boiler or in the microwave, melt the butter completely
- Weigh and blitz the biscuits till smooth (no lumps) in a food processor or transfer the biscuits to a ziplock bag and crush the biscuits using a rolling pin.
- Weigh the castor sugar in a bowl that you will be using to prepare the biscuit base.
- For the vanilla cheesecake cupcakes
- Bring out the butter and let it soften. Chop the butter into even-sized cubes before using. See notes
- Weigh the castor sugar in a bowl.
- Zest the lemon in the same bowl along with the castor sugar and cover the lemon zest with the castor sugar. Cover with a lid and set aside to infuse.
- For cream cheese frosting - Link to recipe
Method
- For the buttery biscuit base
- line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
- Mix the biscuit and castor sugar using a fork.
- One tablespoon at a time, add the melted butter and stir till the crust resembles a wet sand. Make sure it is not moist.
- using a spoon, firmly press 15g or a tablespoon of the crust mixture into each liner till flat and even. set aside. Make sure to firmly press the biscuit base otherwise it will crumble after baking
- For the cupcake
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese on low-medium speed till smooth & creamy (about 2 minutes).
- Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a spatula.
- Add the castor sugar and lemon zest till fluffy on medium speed. Scrape the bowl again and cream for 10 seconds to mix well.
- With the mixer running, add the egg mixer in three batches, mixing well till the mixture forms peaks before each addition without turning off the mixer.
- Turn off the mixer and scrape the bowl well and cream for 10 seconds.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients into the cupcake batter and mix well till just combined on low speed.
- Gently fold the cupcake batter using a spatula just in case any of the ingredients haven’t mixed well.
- Prepare the frosting - Link to recipe
- For even cupcakes
- Put the bowl with the cupcake batter onto a weighing scale or vice versa.
- Bring the weighing scale to zero.
- Scoop 50g of batter into each cup scraping the spoons well before scooping more cupcake batter for the next cupcake.
- Bake the cupcakes at 180°C for about 25 minutes or till the centre of the cupcake springs back when touched.
- Allow them to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes.
- After that transfer them to a cooling rack or tray to cool completely before frosting.
Decorating the cupcakes
- Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, fill a piping bag the frosting with or without a piping tip.
- Pipe generous amount of frosting on each cupcake.
- Top with the left-over biscuit base crumbs.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Unsalted butter - As mentioned in the tips section, experiment and observe how long the butter comes to the right temperature and texture. Depending on the time it takes, weigh out the recipe or bring out the butter mid-way through prep.
- Cream cheese - Use good quality full-fat block-style cream cheese for this recipe (fat content - 30-35%). Read the blog post for more details.
- Storage Instructions
- Vanilla cheesecake cupcakes with frosting can be stored in the refrigerator especially if the weather is warm for a week. Thaw at room temperature before consuming.
- Prepared cupcakes can be kept at room temperature away from direct heat for about 2 hours. I recommend refrigerating after 2 hours to preserve the freshness.
- Make-ahead instructions - The cupcakes and buttercream can be prepared a day in advance and then decorated the next day. Store them under refrigeration overnight and thaw the cupcakes and puree before using.
- Freezing Instructions
- Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then at room temperature till soft.
- Frosting can be stored and frozen in an air-tight container or clean zip-lock bag for 2 months.
- I do not recommend freezing roasted strawberry puree as it's best used when made fresh.
- Ingredient Substitution & Weighing Guide - Read it here
- Small batch recipe - 04 cupcakes (For the cream cheese frosting - scale the recipe quantities by 1/2))
Vanilla Cheesecake Cupcakes Ingredients Vanilla Cheesecake Cupcakes Ingredients Quantities Buttery Biscuit Base + Topping Biscuits (marie biscuit or graham crackers) 73 Unsalted Butter, melted 40 Castor Sugar 08 Vanilla Cheesecake Sponge All-Purpose Flour 46 Baking Powder 2 Baking Soda 1 Castor Sugar 44 Salt 1 Whole Eggs 46 Unsalted Butter, Softened* 36 Full-fat block-style cream cheese, Softened* 22 Lemon Zest 1 Pure Vanilla Extract 1