Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins

It's always great when you come across a recipe that has a twist that you were not expecting.  This Strawberry Cheesecake Muffin on Food Wanderings in Asia is one of them for me.  Strawberry is a very common fruit in our refrigerator, so there was no doubt it would just be a matter of time before I tried this for breakfast.

Who wouldn't want to try this!  Well, one of my girls does not like strawberries!  So instead I substituted apples in a few, and this worked out well!



While these were good, there are a couple of changes I will try the next time.  For my taste, I will add more of the cream cheese filling.  I also struggled with spreading the cinnamon streusel evenly over the muffins.  Perhaps it was my technique (or lack of), so I might find one from another recipe.

Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins

Printable Recipe

Muffin Batter:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup whole milk (original recipe used 3/4 cup)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups strawberries, cut into small pieces

Cream Cheese Filling:

4 ounces cream cheese

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoon beaten egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon Streusel 

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter, cold

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 400F.  Line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.

2) Streusel Topping:

Sift the flour, sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl.  Whisk together.  Add the cold butter and mix with a fork until the mixture looks like coarse wet sand.  Set aside.

3) Cream Cheese Filling:

Beat the cream cheese, egg, sugar and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.

4) Muffin Batter:

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in one bowl.  Whisk together.  In another bowl, beat the milk, oil, egg and sugar.  Stir the dry ingredients into the milk mixture gently.  Do not overmix.  The muffin batter will be slightly lumpy.

5) Scoop a tablespoon of the muffin batter into each cupcake liner.  Sprinkle a few pieces of strawberries.  Add a dollop (about a heaping teaspoon) of the cream cheese filling.  Sprinkle a little of the cinnamon streusel on top of the filling, followed by another layer of the muffin batter.  Add a few more pieces of strawberries.  Lastly, sprinkle the cinnamon streusel on top.  

6) Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for 5 minutes.  Remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Serve warm with a cup of tea or coffee.