Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes for Steph's Birthday

My friend Steph is a big fan of all things red velvet. However, since I've made red velvet cupcakes, bars, and whoopie pies for her to try in the past, I felt I needed to step things up a bit this year for the bday. I Decided to try out these red velvet cheesecake cupcakes where some cream cheese mixture is poured over the red velvet batter before baking. I think they were very delish, right up there with the chocolate cheesecake cupcakes I make. I put them in these red tulip liners that are really popular right now (and really pretty) so they're a bit bigger than your average cupcake. Check these out:



Recipe
Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes (from Restless Chipotle)

Cheesecake Mixture:
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1c sugar
2 eggs
1t vanilla

Cupcake:
1 stick butter, softened
2c sugar
2 eggs
1/4c+2T dark cocoa powder (dutch processed)
red food coloring
2t vanilla
1c whole buttermilk
2 1/4c flour
1t baking soda
3t vinegar

Frosting:
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick butter, softened
1t vanilla
1/4c whole milk
powdered sugar

Cheesecake mixture:
Beat all ingredients together until creamy.

Cupcakes:
Preheat to 325F. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beat until well incorporated. Add cocoa and food coloring (I use gel food coloring so only a few drops, liquid food coloring could be a 1/4c), mix until evenly blended. Alternate adding buttermilk and flour, beginning and ending with buttermilk. Stir in baking soda and vinegar.

Assembly:
Fill liner 3/4 full with cupcake batter. Scoop a tablespoon of the cheesecake mixture on top of the red velvet batter. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool Completely.

Frosting:
Beat cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add in vanilla and milk. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Frost cooled cupcakes.

This would be a great treat for Valentine's day too! Enjoy!