These are the best cupcakes I’ve ever made or eaten.  The cheesecake has the perfect texture/density and the toppings have the perfect touch of sweetness.  I don’t love cheesecake but I adore these cheesecake cupcakes.  I made them for a bbq in the summer and people Loved them.  I made them again recently for Ed’s mom’s birthday and they were a huge hit with them too.  I ended up making these for my dad’s birthday shortly after that.  It takes some time to make and needs to be refrigerated before serving, but it’s really really simple and definitely worth it.

Peaches and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes Recipe

makes 19 cupcakes, adapted from The Food Network

for the cheesecake:

3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

5 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Beat the cream cheese and sugar until creamy.  Then beat in the eggs one at a time until incorporated.  Beat in the vanilla until smooth.  Place paper baking cups into muffin tins and fill cups 2/3 full with cheesecake batter.  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.  Halfway through, very gently rotate the pans.  Meanwhile, make the peach topping and sour cream filling.  Do not overbake the cupcakes.  They should be just slightly undercooked when you remove them from heat.  I place the baking pans on a cooling rack.  When you stick a toothpick in the centre of one, it should come out almost clean.  Since you aren’t removing the cupcakes from the baking pans until they’re chilled through, they will continue to cook slightly.

for the peach topping:

2 cups peeled, chopped peaches (fresh or canned)

1/2 cup orange juice (Food Network suggests mango juice)

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Whisk the cornstarch into the orange juice.  Combine it with the sugar in a medium saucepan.  Stir to mix.  Add 1 cup of peaches and cook and stir over medium heat until mixture bubbles and thickens.  Watch it carefully.  Cool for 10 minutes, then add the remaining peaches.  Set aside to cool.

for the sour cream filling:

1 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix sour cream filling ingredients in a small mixing bowl using a spoon. When the cupcakes sink in the middle, place a scant tablespoon of sour cream mixture in the middle of each one.

When the cupcakes have cooled completely, spoon about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the peach topping over the top of the sour cream filling on each cupcake and refrigerate to chill through.  Serve chilled.  It is very important to chill the cupcakes completely before serving because this makes the taste and texture completely different.