Cheesecake Cupcakes

I absolutely love, love, love cheesecake.. it has to be one of my ALL TIME favorite desserts! I first caught sight of the idea of cheesecake cupcakes in Martha Stewart’s new cupcake book and I thought it was just brilliant!  Not only do cheesecakes in the form of cupcakes reduce the preparation time in half, it is also much easier on the waistline!

I followed the Classic Philadelphia recipe (which has got to be the most delicious yet basic way to make cheesecake)

*The portions described below are suited to serve a batch of 12 cheesecake cupcakes

What you need:  

-    1 cup of Honey Maid Graham Crackers

-    ¼ cup of melted butter

-    250g Philadelphia Brick cream cheese (softened)

-    ¼ cup of sugar

-    ½ tsp vanilla

-    1 egg

-    cupcake liners

How to prepare crust:

Line cupcake tray with cupcake liners.Mix Graham Crackers and butter (in a separate bowl) and press a reasonable amount of mixture at the bottom of each cupcake liner.

How to make cheesecake cupcake:
BEAT cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed just until blended. It should appear to be a very creamy texture ( see picture below)

Pour cheesecake mixture over crust ( about 3/4 full)

-    Bake at 350 º F for about 25 minutes ( or until the center is almost set )
-    Refrigerate cheesecake for an hour
-    Garnish your cheesecake cupcakes however you like ( caramel, fruits, whip cream..etc)

Sorry for the horrible pictures! By the time I was ready to take a picture of my final product I only had one cupcake left over and of course it had to be the worst looking one in the bunch :(