Raspberry Marble Cheesecakes for Martha Stewart's Cupcake Club

So I'm cutting it fine here...midnight is fast approaching (here in Wales) and I wanted to be sure to post up my Raspberry Marble Cheesecakes for the Martha Stewart Cupcake Club - after all this recipe was chosen by me this month! but yesterday I was busy all day baking up a special Valentine's treat for Byron and the 15th just crept up on me! 

I was also a bit cheesecake-d out as chance would have it.  I selected this recipe way back before Christmas when I hadn't baked or eaten cheesecake in aaaages and then a few weeks back I made my s'mores cheesecake and this week we've been finishing off some delicious Valentine's cheesecakes that The English Cheesecake Company sent us! so I wasn't too excited to be baking these if I'm completely honest...

but all that changed once the baking had begun, and once I had made the raspberry puree.  Oh man, it smelt so amazing! I seriously wanted to eat it by the spoonful, and I couldn't help myself so I did - but I wouldn't advise it...I hadn't added any sugar to it yet and it was pretty tart! As I was inhaling the amazing raspberry goodness, I had a fantastic idea! Baked vanilla cheesecake is a little boring by itself, so I decided to throw a few tablespoons of that delicious raspberry puree into the mix...not only did it turn it a lovely shade of pale pink but when I tasted some it tasted like raspberry milkshake! Seriously it took my baking session to new heights of enjoyment! Unfortunately - the cheesecakes are cooling in the fridge so I won't be able to try them 'til morning but judging by what I licked from the bowl, they're going to be super tasty! 

I even decided to get a little festive with my swirling of the puree, and since I was still all loved up from Valentine's I used a toothpick to create little heart shapes on the cheesecakes!

Raspberry Marble Cheesecakes:

Makes 12

From Cupcakes By Martha Stewart

95g crushed Hobnobs

21g unsalted butter, melted 

85g raspberries

1 tbsp caster sugar

450g cream cheese

200g caster sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

Line cupcake tin with cupcake cases.

Crush Hobnobs in food processor.  Melt butter in microwave and stir into the Hobnobs.  

Press 1 tablespoon of crust mixture firmly into the bottom of each cupcake case.  Bake until set, about 5 minutes.  

Blend up raspberries in a food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds.  Pass the puree through a sieve into a small bowl, pressing with a flexible spatula to remove as much liquid as possible.  Throw away the seeds (or eat them like I did, yum!) Whisk in one tablespoon of sugar.

With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  With mixer on low speed, add remaining 200g sugar in a steady stream.

Add salt and vanilla.  (At this point I added 3 tbsp of the raspberry puree mix).

Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined after each.

Spoon 3 tablespoons of filling over the crust in each case.  Dollop a few spots of raspberry puree on top of the mix.  Using a toothpick drag it through the spots to form heart shapes, or swirl it in any direction to create a random swirl pattern.

Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set for about 22 minutes.  Martha advises you use a water bath to ensure they don't crack - I didn't and mine were fine.  

Transfer to wire racks to cool completely and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

If you want to check out all the other bakers who baked along with us this month then you can do so here.

Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes for Martha Stewart's Cupcake Club

My Cupcakes by Martha Stewart is one of the very first Cupcake books I got waaay back in 2009 when I was just 'getting into' cupcakes (you can tell from the pure delight on my face in the picture below that I was pretty excited to receive it!) Recently I came across an awesome blog full of cupcake loving bakers who are baking their way through that very book - and it's called Martha Stewart's Cupcake Club - don't you just want to be a part of something that sounds so cool?! I know I did! 

This month was the first recipe I've joined in with and how fitting that it is the recipe on the very page that has fallen out of my Martha book because I have used it that much. This brownie cupcake recipe is my go to recipe and I'd say I've baked with it at least 100 times over the past few years and that is not an exaggeration! Remember when I made a zillion mini's for a tea party, and my popping candy rainbow cupcakes for Iron Cupcake, and my patriotic USA stars and stripes cupcakes for a Miss Usa Murder Mystery party, and my double stuff Oreo cupcakes, and my mini festive cupcakes for my church Christmas party, and my red and white heart themed cupcakes for my friend's wedding, and my new baby cupcakes for Baby Elijah and even the peanut butter bauble cupcakes - you guessed it, they were all made using this very recipe! because who doesn't love a fudgy moist cupcake!

However, you may have noticed the title of the recipe is mint filled, and in all the times I've baked them I've neglected to make mine mint filled.  Why you ask? because in England we don't get peppermint patties! but for this recipe I wanted to do it right...I was even going to buy some online from one of the American grocery websites at triple the price! but time ran away from me, so then I thought I'll make my own homemade peppermint patties as I found a great recipe but in the space of 5 days I've had 3 exams and a 3000 word essay to write so time wasn't on my side! so in the end I just bought some Tesco own brand peppermint fondants and hoped for the best!



Unfortunately the moral of this story is if you want something done right, do it the American way! When I got my cupcakes out the oven and cut into them, the peppermint fondant had full on disappeared! it had melted away completely and just left a chocolate-y goo behind! Not quite what Martha or I was going for!  so if you live in the States and have access to peppermint patties I'd definitely advise going that route!



P.S I adapted mine slightly by adding peppermint frosting because as much as I value Martha's opinion, in my book a cupcake isn't a cupcake unless it is accompanied by frosting!

Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes:
Makes 12
From Cupcakes by Martha Stewart

225g milk chocolate

1/2 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)

1 cup caster sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1/2 cup plain flour

1/4 cup sifted cocoa powder

12 peppermint patties

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Place chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Stir occasionally until just melted, about 4-5 mins.

Remove bowl from heat.  Whisk in sugar and salt until mixture is smooth, whisk in eggs to combine.  Gently whisk in flour and cocoa just until smooth (do not overmix).

Spoon 1 heaped tablespoon of batter into each cupcake case, place 1 peppermint patty on top, gently pressing into the batter.  Top with remaining batter until 3/4 full, covering the patty completely.

Bake, rotating tin halfway through, until a cake tester inserted halfway in centres (above the mint patty), comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 25-30 minutes.

Peppermint Frosting:

Makes enough to frost the above

From Cupcakes from The Primrose Bakery

110g unsalted butter, at room temperature

60ml semi-skimmed milk, at room temperature

1/2 tsp good quality peppermint extract

500g icing sugar

Few drops of green food colour

In a free standing mixer, beat the butter, milk, peppermint extract and half the icing sugar until smooth - this can take up to 5 mins.  

Gradually add the remainder of the icing sugar and beat again until the buttercream is smooth and creamy.  

Taste the icing at this stage to see if you want to add more peppermint extract (if you are using standard mint extract that you get in a supermarket you may need to add slightly more than half a tsp).

Add a few drops of green food colouring and beat thoroughly.  Check the colour, add more as needed.

I'm looking forward to next month when we get to bake my choice: the raspberry marble cheesecake cupcake! If you don't already own this book then what are you waiting for - it is an absolute must for any cupcake enthusiast! and if you do buy one you can start baking along with us too!