I’ve been meaning to post a strawberry, raspberry or blueberry lemonade probably for the last two or three months. I’ve kept thinking about it off and on and I’m not exactly sure why I haven’t made it yet, I always just wake up with a new craving I guess.
[post_ads]My neighbor brought me a bag of fresh lemons and I was thinking it was perfect, I was finally going to make lemonade… then I was like, nah I’ll make a strawberry lemonade cheesecake instead. I have a mild cheesecake obsession – it’s one of my all time favorite desserts. A lemonade or a cheesecake, I’d always pick the cheesecake first. So with that said, this is my idea of a strawberry lemonade in cheesecake form. It’s deliciously tangy, unbelievably creamy and completely refreshing. For the sauce you could definitely make a raspberry or blueberry topping instead of the strawberry, any of them would be amazing. You know you want one (or two or three) of these cupcakes so go make them :). Enjoy!
Strawberry Lemonade Cheesecake Cupcakes
Yield: 12 Cupcakes
Yield: 12 Cupcakes
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (from about 2 cups cookies)
3 Tbsp salted butter , melted
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
For the cheesecake
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp packed finely grated lemon zest
2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened (I always recommend using Philadelphia for cheesecake)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
3 Tbsp heavy cream
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 - 1 1/2 tsp lemon extract , to taste
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
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Strawberry Sauce
8 oz fresh strawberries
1 Tbsp sugar , or to taste
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together wafer crumbs, melted butter and 1 Tbsp granulated sugar until evenly moistened. Divide mixture among 12 paper lined muffin cups, adding about 1 1/2 Tbsp to each cup (use paper liners, don't use foil liners) and press mixture in each cup into and even layer. Bake in preheated oven 5 minutes then remove from oven and set aside to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
In a food processor, pulse together 3/4 cup granulated sugar with lemon zest (if you don't have a food processor you can just rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips). Add cream cheese to a mixing bowl and pour sugar mixture over cream cheese and using an electric hand mixer set on low speed, blend mixture together just until smooth.
Stir in eggs one at a time, mixing just until combined after each addition. Blend in sour cream and heavy cream. Stir in lemon juice, lemon extract and vanilla extract. Tap mixing bowl against counter top to release some of the air bubbles, about 30 times. Divide mixture among muffin cups, pouring mixture over crusts and filling each nearly full.
Bake in preheated oven 20 - 25 minutes until centers only giggle slightly (cupcakes will become puffed and domed but will sink when removed from oven). Allow to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour, then refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours. Serve with strawberry sauce.
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For the Strawberry Sauce:
Add strawberries, 1 Tbsp sugar and 2 tsp lemon juice to a food processor and blend until pureed. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.More from Cooking Classy:
