Apple Cheesecake Muffins

This recipe for Apple Cheesecake Muffins is divine!  These little beauties are filled with apples as well as a layer of cheesecake. Cream cheese is also in the batter to bring out the cheesecake flavor even more and to make them even more indulgent, they’re topped with a cinnamon crumb streusel.

I look really forward to the fall weather every year.  Not because I don’t like summer, but because I love comfort food and I love to bake with fall flavors.  Apples are on the top of that list.

The other day I was browsing my favorite food blog, Cooking Classy and came across her recipe for Caramel Apple Mini Cheesecakes and knew I had to do something with similar flavors!

As a food blogger, I don’t often get to make other people’s recipes (as much as I may drool over them), but I am very often inspired by them.  Jaclyn at cooking classy inspires me on a regular basis and I really miss cooking her food!

So after seeing those amazing little cheesecakes, I got to work on creating something with similar flavors.  The only thing I was missing was the caramel so I went with adding some brown sugar to the apples which gave a touch of caramel flavor.

These look complicated, but it really didn’t take me very long at all and they are so good, they really are worth the extra effort. I also have an amazing recipe for Raspberry Jam Cheesecake Muffins you might like to try!

I started with the apple mixture so it wasn’t too hot when I added it to the batter.  Make sure you let them cool completely before adding them to the cheesecake layer.  You don’t want them to combine and turn into a custard.

Then I make cheesecake filling and the crumb topping.

Once that’s done, I layered them into the muffin cases.  Starting with a small amount of batter, followed by the cheesecake mixture, then the apples and topped with batter and the crumb topping.

Bake and cool completely.  This step is important.  I tried these warm (who can blame me) and the filling tasted like custard.  I thought they didn’t work and was ready to scrap them, but that night, my husband tried them cold and said they were fantastic.

I tried them and he was right.  You have to give the fillings time to set.  So chill them or let them cool at room temperature for a couple of hours.  It really did make all the difference!

Update: As there were a few reports of issues with the muffins turning out dry, I re-tested the recipe and made a few changes.  Since then, I have only been given positive feedback.  Thank you so much for helping me make my recipes the best they could be!

Apple Cheesecake Muffins

These wonderful little muffins with a surprise filling of apple cheesecake are simply irresistible!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Cooling Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apples, breakfast, muffins

Servings: 12

Calories: 324kcal

Author: Erren Hart of Erren's Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1¾ cups all-purpose/plain flour
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• ½ cup milk
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened

For the cheesecake mixture:

• 4 ounces cream cheese
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the apple mixture:

• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 medium sized cooking apples
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt

For the topping:

• ¼ cup butter, melted
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup all-purpose/plain flour
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cups - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375f/190C
• Line 12 muffin cups in a muffin pan with paper liners.
• Beat together the sugars, butter, cream cheese and egg until well blended and pale.
• Stir in the milk and then add the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined.
• Fill prepared muffin cups about a 1/4 of the way full. Set Aside.

For filling:

• Peel, core and chop the apples, add them to a small bowl and coat with 1 tablespoon of the juice to keep them from going brown.
• Add the cornstarch and coat the apples evenly.
• In a small saucepan on med heat, melt the butter.
• Add the remaining juice, sugar, salt and cinnamon
• Add the apples and stir well and cook for 3-5 minutes to soften. If the mixture becomes too thick, add a bit more juice.
• Remove from heat and set aside.
• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, vanilla, sugar and egg yolk until smooth.
• Drop a rounded tablespoonful into the center of each muffin. Followed by a tablespoon of the apples and then top each one with the remaining batter.
• Mix together the topping ingredients and top each muffin evenly with the topping.
• Bake 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown.
• Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 181mg | Potassium: 157mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 530IU | Vitamin C: 2.1mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 1.2mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @ErrensKitchen or tag #ErrensKitchen!