Strawberry cheesecake cupcakes

Finally back to updating this blog after such a long hiatus! This afternoon I finally got the lazy me to start baking again. Maiden attempt to bake cupcakes and they were a success, lookwise.

Came across the recipe on yankaykay's blog, was so attracted to it, it looks soooo delicious. As usual I went on to search for other versions of this recipe and I found the original recipe at joylicious. Upon reading the first sentence of the post I was totally sold and I knew that I have to try out this recipe. It goes: I always tell girlfriends who can't cook -- "Ladies, there's only 3 recipes you'll ever have to learn to win over any man's heart: the perfectly seared steak, killer mashed potatoes and these Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes."

I modified the recipe quite a bit, maybe that is the reason why mine didn't turn out really delicious (but still yummy!). This recipe yields 18 cupcakes for me.



What I need!!
Recipe (crust, batter & cream cheese)

for crust:
15 digestive crackers, crumbed (I only used 8!!)
125g (or less) butter
3 tbsp sugar (I omitted this to cut down sugar)

1. Preheat oven to 170 degree Celsius.
2. Crush up the digestive crackers and mix in sugar and butter until it holds together when pressed down.
3. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of it into cupcake liner and press down with finger/spoon.
4. Bake for 3-5 minutes.



For batter:
4 egg whites and 2 tbs of sugar
1 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp of salt
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
0.5 cup sour cream/plain yogurt
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and diced

1. Beat egg whites and 2tbs of sugar until stiff, glossy peaks appear. Be careful not to overbeat. Set aside.
2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar until soft and fluffy, add in vanilla extract and beat on low speed. Then add half the flour mixture until incorporated then mix in the sour cream or yogurt. Add remaining flour & mix until just blended.
4. Gently fold 1/3 of the egg into the batter until combined, do not over mix the egg whites or the cake will fall flat. Add remaining egg and fold in the chopped strawberries.
5. Fill each muffin tin about 3/4 of the way and bake for about 20-25 minutes depending on your oven.




For cheese cream:
250g cream cheese
125g of butter
300g (or less) of icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar slowly in small batches, beating on low speed until incorporated. Once all sugar has been added, increase the speed to high and mix until light and fluffy. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

I omitted the cream cheese because after baking the cake I was very exhausted. Furthermore my family doesn't have much liking for cream stuffs, hence... Hahaha, coming up with too many excuses for my laziness :P