Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Hello friends, today I bring a delicious recipe. These Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes feature a buttery Graham Cracker Crust, with Vanilla Cupcake batter poured over and then baked. The cupcakes are topped with a creamy and rich Strawberry Cheesecake Frosting and fresh strawberries.

These Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes were first made for my book Fantastic Filled Cupcakes back when I wrote it in 2020. They ended up not making the cut for the book due to space, because the whole chapter where this recipe was featured had to be excluded from the book because we had reached our page number goal.

Then, later on, we ended up publishing that chapter as an ebook and gave it to people who pre-ordered the book as a bonus.

Now, it’s been almost 2 years since the release of Fantastic Filled Cupcakes, so I will publish a couple of the recipes from that bonus ebook here on my blog, and the first one is the Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes.

The reason why I decided to first publish this Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes recipe is because it was one of my favorites from the whole book, not just the ebook, but the whole book itself.

It was also my husband’s number one favorite recipe from the book.

These are called Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes because of the Strawberry Cheesecake Frosting and because the cupcakes feature a graham cracker crust.

The graham cracker crust is simply made out of graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter, as a regular graham cracker crust would be.

Then we top the graham cracker crust with cupcake batter and bake in the oven. It bakes beautifully together and it sets up the mood for the cheesecake theme.

About that luscious delicious Strawberry Cheesecake Frosting, it’s really what makes the cupcakes, and takes it to the next level. It tastes exactly like cheesecake, specially if you decide to use the cheesecake extract as indicated in the recipe below.

The cheesecake extract is not mandatory by all means, but does make the frosting taste even more like cheesecake.

Cheesecake extract is an excellent flavoring to have at hand to flavor buttercream and even cake batter. It tastes just like cheesecake, and it offers a delicious tang to the dessert. I got mine from Amazon, the brand I tried is LorAnn.

Another couple of changes that I made from the original recipe initially published in the ebook were:

• I substituted some of the butter in the batter for oil, to make the cupcakes fluffier and more moist.
• Initially the cupcake was filled with some of the cheesecake frosting, but then I decided to just top it with the frosting instead of also filling it. But that is still an option you have.

To fill the cupcakes with the frosting, use a spoon or a piping tip to remove the inside of the cupcakes, and pipe some in the middle of each cupcake all the way to the top.

I hope you enjoyed today’s recipe, and I hope you make these delicious Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes soon! Let me know how it goes in the comments! Thanks for reading!

Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Camila Hurst

These cupcakes are the biggest hit with everyone who’s tried them. A buttery Graham Cracker Crust topped with Vanilla Cupcake batter and baked, then filled and topped with creamy and rich Strawberry Cheesecake Frosting. You will find yourself making these cupcakes again and again.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12 cupcakes

Calories 280 kcal

Ingredients

  

Graham Cracker Crust

• 9 sheets graham crackers 137 g
• 3 tbsp packed brown sugar 37 g
• 1/4 cup cup melted butter 56 g

Vanilla Cupcakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour 127 g
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature 56 grams
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar 133 g
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup milk, room temperature 78 ml

Strawberry Cheesecake Frosting

• 1 1/2 cup whole freeze-dried strawberries 34 grams *notes
• 4 cups powdered sugar 500 grams
• 1 cup cream cheese, room temperature 226 g
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 113 g
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cheesecake extract optional *notes
• Fresh strawberries for garnish

Instructions

 

Graham Cracker Crust

• To make the Graham Cracker Crust, preheat the oven to 350F (177C) and line 12 cupcake tins with cupcake liners.
• Process the graham crackers in a food processor until finely ground. Add the brown sugar and melted butter to the food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Place about 1 tablespoons of the crust on the bottom of each cupcake liner and press it down with the bottom of a glass or your fingers. I used a mortar from a mortar and pestle. Set aside.

Vanilla Cupcakes

• In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add the oil and granulated sugar and beat for another 1 to 2 minutes, until creamy and fluffy.
• Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each egg until combined before adding the next. Add the vanilla, followed by the milk, and stir to combine.
• Lastly, add the dry ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula until incorporated.
• Divide the batter evenly on top of the crust, filling each cupcake liner about two-thirds of the way. Bake for about 18 minutes.
• Start checking the cupcakes at the 15-minute mark, and keep baking and checking as necessary. To see if the cupcakes are ready, gently press with your finger on top of the cupcakes, and if they spring right back, that means they are done baking. Let the cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.

Strawberry Cheesecake Frosting

• To make the Strawberry Cheesecake Frosting, place the freeze-dried strawberries in a food processor or blender and process until powdered. Sift the strawberries and powdered sugar into a large bowl and set aside.
• Place the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Cream on medium high speed for 4 minutes, until very fluffy and light in color, scraping the bowl once or twice during the process.
• Turn the mixer off, and add the sifted powdered sugar and strawberries. Mix on low speed until combined, then increase the speed to medium high and beat for 1 more minute.
• Add the vanilla and cheesecake extract and mix to combine.
• Place the Strawberry Cheesecake Frosting in a piping bag fitted with the piping tip of choice. Pipe some on top of the cupcakes.
• Decorate the cupcakes with fresh strawberries, if desired.
• The cupcakes can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 4 days.

Notes

Freeze dried strawberries: you will need 1 1/2 cup of freeze dried strawberries. Then you have to process it to turn into a fine powder. If using straight powder, use 34 grams.

Cheesecake extract: it’s not absolutely necessary, but I love cheesecake extract, and it’s a great flavoring to have at hand, so if you can find some, definitely get it. I get mine on Amazon here.

Keyword cheesecake, cupcakes, strawberry