Cheesecake cupcakes

I haven't had cheesecake in so long! Today, I decided to change that.

The one problem was that I don't have a cake pan... so I decided to make some cheese cupcakes. Thankfully, Martha had a recipe that was for just that: Mini Cheesecakes with Apricot Jam. I decided to combine this with her Classic Cheesecake recipe, taking the crust from the classic cheesecake, the cheesecake part from the Mini Cheesecakes recipe and omitting the apricot.

I started by making the crust, which was as simple as crushing graham crackers in a food processor and adding in agave (substituted for sugar) and butter (I used vegetable margarine). I pressed this mix on the bottom of cupcake tins in the cupcake pan. I baked this for a bit and took it out to cool.

Then it was time to make the cheese part. I mixed together low fat cream cheese, agave, vanilla, eggs and non fat sour cream. I poured this mix into each cupcake cup with the crusts. This, I baked for around 20 minutes... until the outside of the cheesecakes was hard, but the middle was still jiggly.

I had to chill these cheesecakes for four hours (which will end up being overnight), so I haven't tried them yet. But they look delicious! I'll update tomorrow with the full results and pictures.

Recipe (courtesy of Martha Stewart):

Crust: 

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus room-temperature butter for pan
• 12 graham crackers (3-by-5 inch)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make crust: Butter a 9-by-3-inch springform pan. In a food processor, pulse graham crackers until fine crumbs form; add melted butter, sugar, and salt, and pulse to combine. Press crumb mixture into bottom and about 1 inch up side of pan. Bake until set, 12 to 15 minutes; let cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven to 325 degrees.

Filling: 

1. Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees. Beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, then vanilla. With mixer running, add eggs slowly, scraping down side of bowl. Add sour cream and salt. Pour batter into muffin cups, filling almost to the tops.
   
2. Bake until sides are set but centers are wobbly, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks. Wrap tins tightly with plastic, and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
   
3. Warm jam in a small saucepan until liquidy. Strain through a sieve. Spoon 1 teaspoon jam on top of each cake. Cheesecakes will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days.

Edit: I just tried them and these are DELICIOUS. I'm in love.