Recipe courtesy of Kevin VanDeraa
Toodee Fruity-Blueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 12 cupcakes
- Total: 1 hr 10 min
- Prep: 1 hr
- Inactive: 10 min
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust:
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 ounces melted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
Cheesecake Batter:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
Dash salt
1/2 egg
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
Pound Cake Batter:
6 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
11 1/2 ounces sugar
3 eggs
4 ounces sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Decorations:
2 ounces white fondant
1 ounce black fondant
Beaten egg white
Lightened Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows
Lightened Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 ounces (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature
3 ounces confectioners' sugar
Blue food coloring, as needed
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
- For the graham cracker crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Line a cupcake pan with 12 liners.
- Toss the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar together and place a heaping teaspoon in the bottom of each of the 12 cupcake liners in the pan. Tap down with the bottom of a whisk to make a hard flat surface in the bottom of the cupcake liner. Bake for 5 minutes.
- For the cheesecake batter: In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the cream cheese, sugar and salt. When all the lumps are gone, add the egg and mix to fully incorporate. Fold in the blueberries using a rubber spatula and set aside.
- For the pound cake batter: Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda, and set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions. Alternately add the sour cream and dry ingredients in three batches ending with the dry. Add the vanilla extract and mix to fully incorporate.
- To assemble: Fill the baking cups with the graham cracker crust about halfway with the pound cake batter. With a teaspoon make a well in the middle of the batter. Spoon about a teaspoon of the cheesecake batter into the well. Bake until the top of the cupcake begins to turn brown and the cake portion feels firm to the finger, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove and cool completely.
- For the decorations: Roll out both fondants to 1/8-inch thick. Cut large ovals from the white fondant and small circles (pupils) from the black fondant. Affix the pupils to the eyes with the egg white. Make 24 fondant eyes, 2 per cupcake.
- With a round pastry tip, using a circular motion, frost the cupcakes with the Lightened Cream Cheese Frosting. Affix the eyes in the center of the cupcake.
Lightened Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Cream together the cream cheese and butter, stopping to scrape down the bowl and ensure there are no lumps. Add the confectioners' sugar and blue food coloring and mix to fully incorporate. Set aside. Whip the heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract until whipped cream is formed. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Put mixture into a pastry bag affixed with a round tip.