I love cheesecake. However, my husband does not. So when I have a craving for cheesecake, I make these cheesecake cupcakes. Each cupcake is an individual serving of cheesecake that's ready for the toppings of your choice. And, because they freeze well, you can have cheesecake on hand for those unexpected moments when a cheesecake craving strikes!
Before I leave you to enjoy this recipe, I'd like to share with you some of my favorite ways to top these little treasures:
- Sprinkle mini chocolate chips over the top and drizzle a little maple syrup on your plate.
- For a citrus burst, add 1 tablespoon of grated orange zest into the cream cheese batter before baking.
- An all-time favorite involves drizzling raspberry sauce over the top and enjoying a small bar of dark chocolate alongside.
- For a turtle cheesecake experience, drizzle caramel over the top and sprinkle generously with mini chocolate chips and chopped pecans.
- Strawberry sauce and white chocolate chips added to an individual cheesecake is both pretty and tasty.
With that shared, I bid you farewell and may all your days be cheesecake days!
Cheesecake Cupcakes
- Cooking spray
- 20 reduced fat vanilla wafers, crushed
- 1 (8 oz.) carton 1/3 fat cream cheese
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 2 tsp. flour
- 1/4 tsp. almond extract
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 egg whites
- 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place ten paper muffin cups into a muffin tin and lightly spray them with cooking spray. Sprinkle the vanilla wafer crumbs evenly into the bottom of the cups (each cup will have about one heaping teaspoon of crumbs in it).
In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, flour and extracts. Set aside.
In a medium-sized glass bowl, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar. Beat the mixture with an electric beater set on the highest setting until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
Immediately beat the cream cheese mixture until it is smooth. Carefully fold in the egg white mixture. Spoon the mixture evenly into the crumb-coated muffin cups.
Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until they are set. Cool the cupcakes in the cups -- then cover and chill until ready to serve.
- Yields: 10 servings
- Preparation Time: 40 minutes