Easy Cheesy Filipino Cheese Cupcakes

Hi everyone! Today is going to be a short and easy recipe for Filipino Cheese Cupcakes. These cupcakes are one of those iconic and old-school snacks that were quite popular in the Philippines a few (more than a few, actually) years ago.  Nowadays, a popular Filipino snack brand sells its own version and many mothers include this in their children’s lunch boxes.  Their texture is actually more akin to muffins, but because most Filipinos are not familiar with muffins, we call them cupcakes instead.

I googled Cheese Cupcakes and most of the recipes that were floating around the Internet called for creaming the sugar and the butter together while mixing the flour and the other dry ingredients on one side.  It’s one of the usual techniques to give the cupcakes a lift and airiness.

Now I don’t have much of a problem with this technique; I just don’t have the patience to wash a lot of dishes afterwards. I wanted to see if it’s possible for me to just dump all the ingredients together and still create some wonderful cupcakes.

I quickly set out the ingredients to bring them to room temperature.  Before I forget, it’s important to get all the cold ingredients to room temperature – the butter has to soften enough for it to be easily mixed with the other ingredients.

Once the butter was ready, I dumped all the ingredients onto the bowl of my stand mixer and slowly mixed them together. The goal here is to mix them just enough for the stuff to come together. Apparently, over-mixing can cause the cupcakes to turn dense. If you don’t have a stand mixer, don’t fret. The mixing “technique” is so elementary, you just actually need a bowl and a spatula.

I found that my previous attempts at making cheese cupcakes weren’t as cheesy as I wanted them to be. I’m not sure if it’s the amount or type of cheese that I used, but I wanted to try to make the flavor more pronounced. For this attempt, I used parmesan and sharp cheddar cheeses.  I also increased the amount of cheese in the recipe.  The most popular type of cheese in the Philippines is the processed kind, typically cheddar, which is often sold in blue and yellow-colored rectangular boxes.  I plan on using this kind of cheese next time as this is more accessible to most Filipinos.

Well, for the final results!

Yep, they were every bit as delicious as I had imagined! I am so using this one-bowl method more often in the future!

Easy Cheesy Filipino Cheese Cupcakes

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• Author: Paula (Gobble The Cook)
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 18-25 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 12-15 Cupcakes
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: Filipino

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Description

Easy, cheesy Filipino Cheese Cupcakes make for excellent snacks for everyone. Customize it with your favorite type of cheese and add a wee bit of lemon essence to complement the taste.

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Ingredients

• 180 grams (1 1/2 cups) all purpose flour, sifted
• 1 3/4 tsps baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 113 grams (1/2 cup) butter, softened
• 110 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
• 2 eggs, large
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) evaporated milk
• 180 ml (3/4 cup) condensed milk
• 1/8 tsp lemon essence, optional
• 150 grams (1 1/2 cups) cheese(like parmesan or cheddar), grated

Toppings:

• 50 grams (1/2 cup) cheese (like parmesan or cheddar), grated

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
2. In a bowl of a stand mixer on the lowest setting, mix all the ingredients for the cupcakes just until combined.  Note: You may also use a spatula and a large bowl for this.
3. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Scoop out the batter and fill the liners until 3/4 of the way.
4. Top with grated cheese before baking for 18-25 minutes, or until the top turns golden.
5. Remove from the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack and cooling completely.
6. Top with more grated cheese just before serving.

Notes

• Depending on the kind of oven you have, the baking may need to be adjusted. I used the convection setting for this batch, hence the slightly more than golden top even though I baked these for 18 minutes only.
• The top of your cupcakes may look like they’re burnt. It’s because of the cheese toppings sprinkled just before baking (unless of course they really are burnt).  The toppings may also cause the tops of the cupcakes to be a little bit crunchy.
• Lemon essence is optional; I used 1/2 tsp lemon juice before but the smell and taste aren’t as strong as when using essence.
• The cupcakes can keep for around 3-5 days when kept in a tightly covered container.

Keywords: cupcakes

If you want more recipes, try these out:

• The Softest Ever Pandesal (Filipino Bread Rolls)
• Delicious Filipino Spanish Bread
• Cooking by the Book: Beorn’s Honey Cake