Preparation

• Mix your cupcake batter as called for in the recipe. Typically, this process involves mixing together the dry ingredients, such as flour, salt and a leavening, and then mixing together the wet ingredients, such as oil, eggs and sugar, in a separate bowl. Then, the baker usually combines wet and dry ingredients together. While preparing the batter, beat together a ratio of 2 parts egg, 6 parts cream cheese and 2 parts sugar. This mixture will help the cream cheese retain its shape during the baking process.

Filling

• Prepare the muffin tin by placing cupcake cups in each round hole. Fill each cupcake cup 1/2 full with batter. Then, take a rounded spoonful of the cream cheese mixture and spoon it on top of the batter, and then fill the cups with the rest of the batter. Typically, you would use a teaspoon-full of the cream cheese mixture for small cupcakes and a tablespoon-full for large cupcakes. Make sure your cream cheese mixture is in the middle of the cupcake, with batter beneath and on top of the cream cheese mixture.

Baking

• Bake the prepared cupcakes according to your recipe, and according to the time and temperature. However, if the initial recipe did not call for a cream cheese filling, keep a close eye on the cupcakes, because the consistency of the center may make the baking time slightly longer. Check to see if the cupcakes are done by inserting a toothpick in to the center of several cupcakes to see if the toothpick comes out clean. If it does, then remove the cupcakes from the oven.

Considerations

• If you are mixing the cream cheese with other ingredients that changes its consistency – such as a large amount of butter, then fill the cupcakes after baking, instead of before. You can achieve this by using an apple corer to remove the center of the cupcake and then pipe in the cream cheese mixture and then frost the top of the cupcake to cover the hole. You can achieve the same effect by cutting the top off, scooping out the center of the cupcake, filling it, and then placing the top back on.