I usually use this recipe for the 9inch cheese cake. This time I made this recipe into a mini cupcake.
This recipe is broken down into 3 stages - the crust, the cheesecake and the topping.
First Stage: The Crust
What you need:
Graham Cracker. There are 3 packs in this box. I only used 1 pack.
5 tbsp butter
1/3 cup sugar
The process:
Let's start by melting the butter. I like using the little ramekins to melt the butter. I stick it in the microwave for 1 minute to melt. If there are clumps of butter, use a whisk to melt the butter.
Put the graham cracker and sugar in the food processor.
Add the melted butter
Pulse the mixture until the Graham Cracker is finely crumbled. Scrape the sides of the food processor to combine all ingredients. Mix until thoroughly combined.
The mixture should look like this when done. Set aside for now.
Line the cupcake pan. I am using the mini cupcake pan.
This is my favorite cupcake liner. I get this at Smart and Final. Of course, you can use the cute fancy cupcake liners too. I just like the plane Jane one.
Note: A very reliable source told me not to use foil cupcake liners unless you want a foil flavored cheese cake.
To make your life easier, especially when baking, have a few of these ice cream scoops. For this I am using a very tiny one. It does not say the number in the scoop. I used the tiniest one.
I also used my sake cup for this process. When I got the sake cup from my sushi class, I really didn't know what to do with it. But I kept it anyway it may have a purpose someday. Really, 1 sake cup? What do you do with it? Now it has a purpose in my kitchen. You'll see it in the later steps.
Let's get the graham cracker mixture. With the tiny scooper, fill the scoop and put the mixture in the muffin cups. This is where the ice cream scoop comes in handy!
Fill all the muffin cups.
Now this is where my 1 tiny sake cup comes in handy. Instead of using my thumb to press the crust, I used the sake cup to press the crust. Brilliant! Now this unwanted sake cup is a valuable tool that I can add to my already extensive cookware and baking collections. I love my sake cup now! The sake cup has an IKEA label on the bottom so I think it came from Ikea. Or you can use any other shot glass. If you love tequila, you have may have one handy shot glass at home.
Check this out...
Before the "sake press"
The sake press
After the sake press
The sake press really speeds up process. Set the pans aside after the all crusts have been pressed.
Second Stage: The Cheesecake
This is where you can start preheating the oven. If you have dual oven, use it! It took me a while to remember to turn on my dual ovens when I bake. Now it's second nature to turn the dual oven on.
What you need for the cheese cake:
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
3 cups of cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
Now let's start the cheese cake process.
Put the block or blocks of cream cheese In the mixing bowl.
Soften the cream cheese using the mixer's paddle blade.
Add the sugar to the cream cheese. Mix together.
Add eggs one at a time. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Add the vanilla to the mixture.
Mix all the ingredients. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl. Mix again if there are still clumps of cream cheese.
Now scoop the cream cheese mixture and fill the muffin cups. Do not over fill. Fill approximately 2/3 of the cupcakes liners only to prevent the mixture from spilling over the pan.
The cheesecake mixture should yield two mini muffin pans.
The oven should now be ready. Place your cupcakes in the oven. Bake for 350F for 20 mins.
The cupcakes will puff up just like in the picture.
Here's a better picture of the puffed cheesecake cup cakes. This will all flatten out as soon as the pan is out of the oven.
This is how it looks like after it's out of the oven. It's not puffed cream cheese!
You can now add your favorite topping.
Third Stage: The Topping
For this cheesecake cupcake, I used the salted caramel topping.
I already have prepared the caramel. I'll post another page on how this caramel was made.
Scoop the caramel over the freshly baked cheesecake.
Place the cheesecake back in the oven. Make sure that the oven is OFF but still warm. This way the caramel will melt and will spread on top of the cheesecake. Leave the cheese cake for 5 mins.
Add a pinch of coarse sea salt on top of the cupcakes when cooled off.
Transfer all the cupcakes in a cupcake tray. I added another cupcake liner to the baked cupcakes since the cupcakes liners are sticky. You do not want sticky fingers when holding the cupcakes.
Share and enjoy!
And clean up the mess...
Enjoy!
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