Our cupcake contributor, Lauren of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy, is baking up something sweet today…
I must admit, I was a little stumped with a cupcake recipe for the month of September! It’s the time of year where summer is coming to a close so you are no longer in the mood for fresh and fruity recipes, but it’s not quite time to whip out the pumpkin and start fall baking either. So this month, with the help of some feedback from my Facebook fans, I hope I’ve come up with a recipe that you all will enjoy! It seemed most everyone was looking for something that included chocolate. One person suggested a turtle cupcake, which I thought was brilliant since those little turtle candies are one of my absolute favorites! So in an attempt to appeal to most of your wishes, we have chocolate, we have turtle and we even have a little something extra special in the center… cheesecake! So go grab some caramels, chocolate and pecans and get ready to whip up a batch of these Chocolate Cheesecake Turtle Cupcakes!
I can’t think of better way to satisfy both a cupcake and cheesecake craving than with these mini cakes. The base of the recipe is a chocolate cake batter, with a dollop of cream cheese mixture on top. Pop these babies into the oven and about 20 minutes later you have a delicious chocolate cake with a creamy cheesecake center…yum!
The topping on these is as simple as melting some caramels and chocolate and drizzling on top! Sprinkle with a few chopped pecans and you have yourself the ultimate turtle cupcake in no time!
This recipe is really so versatile and can be switched up in a number of ways. Why not add some chocolate chips to the cheesecake batter before baking and create a Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cupcake…now that’s a mouthfull! But I know it would be delicious! Or sprinkle the top of the cupcakes with some of your favorite candy bars instead of the pecans…Snicker’s would be fabulous! You could even throw a little strawberry jam in to the cheesecake mixture and create a Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake. You get the idea…get creative and have fun with toppings that you enjoy if Turtles aren’t your thing!
Chocolate Cheesecake Turtle Cupcakes
(makes 18 cupcakes)
For the cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
For the cheesecake:
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
- In large bowl combine dry cake ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda. Mix until well combined.
- In small bowl combine wet cake ingredients: vegetable oil, water, vinegar and vanilla.
- Make a well in the bowl of dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir mixture until combined.
- Fill cupcake liners 1/3 full with chocolate batter.
- In a small bowl combine cheesecake ingredients: cream cheese, sugar and egg. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy.
- Use a small cookie scoop to evenly distribute the cream cheese mixture on top of the chocolate batter.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until cream cheese center is firm.
- Let cupcakes cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.
- Once cupcakes are completely cool add the turtle toppings.
For the Turtle Topping:
14 caramels
6 Tbsp half & half, divided
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans
- Unwrap caramels and place in microwave safe bowl with 3 Tbsp half & half. Microwave for 1 1/2 -2 minutes until melted. Stir until smooth and let cool for a few minutes.
- Place chocolate chips and 3 Tbsp half & half in microwave safe. Microwave for 1 1/2-2 minutes until melted. Stir until smooth.
- Use a spoon and drizzle caramel and chocolate on top of each cupcake.
- Sprinkle cupcakes with pecans.
Hope you enjoy!
These look AMAZING and I will HAVE to make them!!!
Soooo decadent looking! Totally craving now!!
Yummm! Do they need to be refrigerated? Thanks!
Must. Try. These!
Can’t wait to try these Lauren! They look so very yummy!
I am so making this for my hubbies bday.. thank u thank u
Toppings looks very delicious.
Must try recipe.
Thanks for Sharing.
So this is my ultimate favorite kind of cheesecake, just wondering if they need to be put in the fridge for the cheesecake part. I am having a hard time imagining eating the cheesecake part not cold. Thanks!
Glad everyone is enjoying this recipe! I must admit that these cupcakes didn’t last long when I made them, so no refrigerating was necessary. However, I would recommend refrigerating cupcakes if you have leftovers!
My tummy just grumbled. I MUST have these soon.
Can you make these ahead of time and freeze them? Do they freeze well?
OMG….these are amazing. Just made them for a party and couldn’t wait to try one. The perfect amount os sweetness. Thank you for the recipe.
Made these for work and everybody raved about them! Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Lauren..Iwould love to try these..they look amazing. I have a question (sorry, sutpid question maybe)..what kind of caramels do you mean?? recipe says unwrap them, so you lost me there ;)…thank you.
These look so good I have to try them. I am making them now for a potluck at work. Only thing i changed was instead making the batter drom scratch i cheated n brought the box. Hope it turns out good. Will let u know soon.
Thanks. Cuz i love turtle cheesecake.
My mom made these years ago for me when I was a kid. She put choc. chips in the cream cheese filling & about twice the amount of sugar. These have been around awhile and are still fabulous! thanks for the trip down memory lane!
These are gorgeous and I bet they taste phenomenal!
So pretty, I shared them on my fb page.
Happy weekend.
I’ll be having sweet dreams now (:
Hi everyone,
These look fab!
But i have one question. What would happen if I left the egg out of the cheesecake would this cupcake still work? Or is there anything I can substitute the egg for as I don’t eat egg?
Any feedback would be appreciated.
These are delicious! The only thing I found is that when I divided the batter among 18 cups, they came out a little shallow filled.
Can these be made as mini cupcakes?
These cupcakes look really promising!
Hi Lauren! I have to say, your Cheesecake Turtle Cupcake recipe is just amazing! Just looking at your pictures makes me wanna make some! Best Wishes!
I just made these and WOW! These taste heavenly! Thank you so much for the recipe! I added white chocolate chips instead of pecans and i LOVED the result!