Hi you guys!!! I've been MIA for quite some time because I've been so busy with school application stuff! But I'm almost done! Anyway, I made these amazing mini caramel macchiato cheesecakes and I hope you guys enjoy too :) I don't have step-by-step pictures because I honestly wasn't expecting to post this onto my blog, but I ended up really wanting to share it!
Ingredients
14 oz. vanilla wafers
1/2 cup butter
3 packages (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 shots espresso
1 cup sour cream
Caramel
1. Bring 3 packages of cream cheese, 3 eggs, and 1 stick of butter to room temperature.
2. Use a food processor (or anything that will crush vanilla wafers into crumbs) to process 14 oz. of vanilla wafers.
3.Mix the vanilla wafers with 1 stick of room temp. butter until fully incorporated.
4. Distribute crumb mixture into the mini cupcake liners and bake in a 350 degree oven for 6 minutes so the crumbs and butter meld into each other to make a solid crust. Cool and refrigerate when done.
5. Now on to the cheesecake batter!! Beat 3 packages of cream cheese by itself to make a smooth batter. Make sure to beat until smooth to avoid a lumpy cheesecake batter filled with bad, bad cream cheese lumps. bad.
6. Beat into the batter 1 cup of sugar.
7. Now fold in 3 eggs one at a time until just incorporated. Overmixing the eggs can result in a cracked up cheescake.
8. Fold in two shots of Starbucks espresso (or any other kind of espresso you want) and 1 cup of sour cream. You can also add in some (or a lot) of caramel at this point.
9. Take out the cupcake liners with the baked crusts from the fridge and pour in the batter into each liner. Tap the mini cupcake pan so air bubbles can escape and the batter can sit evenly.
[Now, I like baking my cheesecake in lower heat than normal because I've learned that it's better to bake cheesecake in low heat so it won't freak out and crack all over. I also have a pan filled with boiling water at the bottom of the oven so the cheesecake won't have to bake in a dry oven, which could contribute to a cracky cheesecake.]
10. With a pan filled with boiling water at the bottom of the oven, change the temperature of the oven from 350 degrees to 325 and place the cupcake pan in the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until it stops jiggling. 12 minutes was enough time for me.
11. When it's done, take the pan out of the oven but leave the cheesecakes in the pan for a little bit so it gets used to the outside temperature. After a couple minutes, take the cheesecakes out of the pan.
12. Leave them outside until they reach room temp. and then transfer them to the fridge. I leave my cheesecakes in the fridge for a day. I feel like cheesecakes taste better the day after they're baked.
13. Then add a sexxxy layer of caramel on top and enjoy :)
