Cherry Cheesecake Cupcake

Cherry Cheesecake Cupcake! Cheesecake is pretty much my favorite thing to make AND eat, so why not take those flavors and turn them into portable individual desserts that are perfect for any BBQ?

My Cassie works at Maple Mountain High school, and the other day, one of her co-workers did the nicest thing for my family and I had to come up with a “thank you” that matched the act!

I found out that she was a lover of diet coke, like me, and so that made sense to take her a 12 pack of this bubbly goodness but that just wasn’t enough!

I came up with this cupcake and I hope she liked it as much as we did. It is seriously heaven in a cupcake! My husband Mikie came home at ate 3 before she changed his clothes from work.

Cherry Cheesecake Cupcake

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
1 Yellow cake mix
3 egg whites
1 cup of water
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 small box instant cheesecake pudding

Frosting:
2 sticks of butter
1 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 to 4 cups powdered sugar
1 can cherry pie filling
graham cracker crumbs

Cherry Cheesecake Cupcake

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers, and set aside. Combine cake mix, egg whites, water, and mayo. Add half of the box of pudding. Keep the rest of the pudding for the icing.
Fill cupcake liners until they are 3/4 full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or they pop up by a soft touch. Let cool a little bit.
Find a round object in your kitchen to make the holes in the middle of the cupcakes. I used the end of my rolling pin. Gently press to make the holes.

Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs in the hole and on the top of the cupcake. Fill the hole with cherry pie filling. I mostly used the cherries for the middle.

In a bowl, cream together butter, vanilla, and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Slowly add the pudding to the mixture and then gradually add the powdered sugar until it is the consistency that you want.
Frost your cupcakes and add a dollop of cherry filling to the top and sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs.