Cinnamon Bun Cupcake with Cheesecake Frosting

Here is recipe #3 of the bake sale cupcakes Sue and I made last week. These were definitely a huge hit! Who wouldn't want a cupcake with a mini cinnamon bun on top and cheesecake in the frosting?

Yeah...actual cheesecake.

Holy heck!

Don't tell me this doesn't interest you. 

I really don't know that I can be friends with someone who would turn up their nose at this delectable treat. Although.... Sue would probably be your new best friend. You could get together and talk about how awful sweet things are.

*sigh*

 Cinnamon Bun Cupcakes with Cheesecake Frosting and Mini-Cinnamon Bun Topper

 (Ever-so-slightly adapted from Culinary Concoctions By Peabody)

Ingredients

Mini Cinnamon Buns

1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Filling

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 Tbsp cinnamon

Cupcakes

2 cups cake flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

pinch salt

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

5 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Cheesecake Frosting

12 oz cream cheese (1 1/2 bricks), softened

1 slice cheesecake, bottom removed, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon juice

Directions

Mini-Cinnamon Buns - Preheat oven to 350. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside.

Unroll the crescent dough and pinch seams together. Using a basting or pastry brush, spread the melted butter over the crescent dough. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up, jelly roll style. Cut into 24 small rolls. Place each roll into one of the greased mini muffin cups.

Bake at 350 until rolls are golden brown, about 10 - 15 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool only a minute, then remove the buns from the pan.

Don't let them cool in the pan or they will be hard to remove!

Set the buns aside to cool. (You can make these a day ahead and keep them in the fridge in an airtight container.)

Cupcakes - Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 muffin tins with paper liners.

Sprinkle a scant tablespoon of cinnamon sugar filling in each cup. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the room temp butter for 3 minutes on medium speed until the butter is light and creamy in color. Stop and scrape the bowl. Cream the butter for an additional 60 seconds.

Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the eggs one at a time.

Reduce the mixer speed.

Stir vanilla into the buttermilk.

Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.

Spoon batter a 1/3 of the way up the muffin cup. Sprinkle 1 tsp of cinnamon sugar filling on top of batter. Spoon another 1/3 of the way up. .

Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes or until the cake is lightly brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from heat, let cool in pans for a couple of minutes, remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Cheesecake Frosting - Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or a bowl and a mixer) beat the cream cheese and cheesecake on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Add sugar, and beat another three minutes, until super smooth.

Add vanilla and lemon juice and beat another 30 seconds.
Chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes. Pipe or spread frosting onto cupcakes. (This can be made a couple of days before and kept, refrigerated, in an airtight container.)

To assemble your cupcake - Pipe or spread cheesecake frosting onto cupcakes. top each with a mini cinnamon bun.

Do not be tempted to taste the cheesecake frosting while you are making it.

Really.

You will want to eat it with a spoon.

Once you start you will not be able to stop and then your frosting will be half gone and you will have to run to the store to buy more ingredients.

Just sayin'

It could happen.

Not that it happened to me.

Nooooooooo. I'm totally not like that.

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