Dulce de Leche Cheesecake-Filled Cupcakes

Dulche de Leche can be used in many diverse ways and these Dulche de Leche Cheesecake-Filled Cupcakes are a special treat to share with your loved ones. This post was sponsored by Collective Bias® to help others learn the many uses of dulce de leche but, as always, the recipe and the opinions in this post are my own.

The holidays are the season of giving, and it's also the season to recognize others and to say "thank you." I created these Dulce de Leche Cheesecake-Filled Cupcakes using Nestle's La Lechera Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Kit to deliver to Big Brothers Big Sisters in order to say thank you for all of their work in helping children realize their fullest potential.

In 2009, I became a Big Sister to my Little, and we were matched for about three years until I started graduate school in 2012. During that time, it was amazing to see how she matured and grew... both mentally and physically (she ended up being taller than me after a couple years!). Her interests evolved from thinking books were boring and a waste of time to enjoying reading and looking forward to new books, despite her struggles with reading. In 2012, I started graduate school and decided to end my match because I didn't want my Little to feel neglected while I was trying to juggle working full-time and going to school in the evenings.

This year, Big Brothers Big Sisters developed a new program called Mentor 2.0 that was created for those who want to volunteer but can't due to time constraints. The program is almost entirely electronic communication where you exchange e-mails with your mentee at least once a week. Then once every month or two, you meet in the evening at their school to participate in activities with your mentee and other mentees/mentors in the program. When I heard about this program, I immediately signed up because this was something that I knew that I could participate in and was excited to get involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters again. The program is relatively new and I've been working with my mentee for a couple months now and it's been a  very positive experience thus far.

This weekend I picked up a box of Nestle La Lachera's Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Kit at Walmart to make something special to say thank you to the folks at Big Brothers Big Sisters for their dedication and big hearts to help kids around the US. I decided to make dulce de leche cheesecake and use the cheesecake to fill brown sugar cupcakes, then I topped them with a dulce de leche and cream cheese frosting. I wanted to make special cupcakes to say a special thank you to those that help others, and I think these cupcakes are perfect to do just that!

I delivered these cupcakes to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central New Mexico this morning before work and while these cupcakes were my "thank you" to them, they voiced how incredibly thankful and appreciative they were of all their volunteers. So despite them being recognized for their efforts, they in turn recognized others that help them to make their program successful which is what "paying it forward" epitomizes, and is why Big Brother Big Sisters is one of my favorite organizations.

If you want to say thank you or make someone feel special, please give these cupcakes a try! If you'd like more information about Nestle La Lechera Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Kit, please visit Nestle's Facebook Page.

Ready to be taken to Big Brothers Big Sisters!

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake-Filled Cupcakes
Cheesecake recipe from La Lachera's Dulce de Leche Baking Kit; Cupcake and Frosting recipe from Joy the Baker

Cheesecake:
1 dulce de leche cheesecake baking kit (includes can of dulce de leche, crust mix, and filling mix)
4 Tbs. butter, melted
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 eggs, room temperature

Cupcakes:
3 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 1/2 c. buttermilk

Frosting:
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. dulce de leche, plus more for drizzling
1/4 tsp. salt
2-3 c. powdered sugar


Directions:

Cheesecake:

Preheat oven to 350, and line a 9x9 baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. In a medium bowl, add together the crust mix and the melted butter. Mix well until well-combined, then press the crust formly on the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside while you prepare the filling.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and filling mix with an electric mixer on medium speed until well-combined. Then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each egg. Once combined, add the cream cheese mixture on top of the crust.

Bake 30-35 minutes until the filling is set. Cool completely. After the cheesecake cools for about 10 minutes, I like to set it in the freezer to cool completely for 30-60 minutes. Just make sure that you set it on top of some pot holders so you don't melt anything in the freezer, and make sure that you don't set it next to other items in the freezer so they don't melt or thaw!


Cupcakes:

Preheat to 350 degrees F, and line three cupcake pans with paper or foil liners. Set aside.


In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until fully and lighter in color, about 3 minutes with an electric mixer. Scrap down the sides of the bowl, add one of the eggs, and continue to beat for about a minute. Repeat this step again with the remaining eggs. Then add in vanilla extract.

Add half of the flour mixture to the wet mixture on low speed, then slowly add the buttermilk. When mixed together, add the rest of the flour mixture until incorporated. Do not overmix.

Place 1-2 tablespooons of batter in each cupcake liner. Then scoop tablespoons of cheesecake and place onto the batter. Lastly, fill the cupcakes with the rest of the batter, filling each liner about 2/3 full. Bake 16-20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean. The cupcakes may bake a little faster because of the cheesecake in the middle.

Let the cupcakes rest in the pans for about 5 minutes, then transfer the individual cupcakes to a wire rack of a table lines with cloths in order to cool completely before frosting.


Frosting:

Beat the cream cheese in a medium or larger bowl with a electric mixer until it becomes soft. Add the butter and dulce de leche, then continue to beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Add the salt and powdered sugar and continue to beat on medium speed for about three minutes until it becomes fluffy and lighter in color.

Frost the cupcakes. Then warm the remaining dulce de leche in a microwave safe bowl for 15 second intervals until the dulce de leche becomes runny. Drizzle the dulce de leche over the cupcakes.



Makes about 36 cupcakes