The most delicious, high altitude cherry cheesecake cupcakes are made with moist vanilla cupcakes baked on top of a buttery graham cracker crust. The cupcakes are filled with sweet cherry pie filling, frosted with cream cheese whipped cream frosting, and topped with fresh cherries.
You might also love these high altitude recipes for fresh strawberry cupcakes, chocolate peanut cluster cupcakes, and chocolate chip cookie cupcakes.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Tastes Like Cherry Pie. With the crumbly graham crust, the cherry pie filling and the fluffy whipped cream, these cherry cheesecake cupcakes have all the flavor of cherry pie, all wrapped up in the most adorable cupcakes.
Easy to Make. While there are a few steps needed to put this recipe together, it really doesn’t take much time at all. And while you could make homemade cherry pie filling, I did use canned cherry pie filling, just to make things a bit simpler.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
For the crust, you’ll just need crushed graham crackers, a little sugar and salt, as well as melted butter to hold it all together.
Cupcakes
These High Altitude Vanilla Cupcakes are the perfect base cupcake recipe for these cherry cheesecake cupcakes. The cupcakes are moist, fluffy, and easy to make. While the original recipe makes 15 cupcakes, when you add the graham cracker crust underneath, you’ll get 2 dozen.
Filling
Cherry pie filling, either homemade or store bought makes a delicious filling for the cupcakes. If using canned filling, try to find one without any HFCS, for the best flavor. You could even use cherry jam or preserves, if preferred.
Frosting
For the frosting, I made a variation of my stabilized whipped cream recipe instead of my usual buttercream. The whipped cream frosting uses heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and cream cheese to add the cheesecake flavor, as well as to stabilize it, so that it doesn’t deflate on the frosted cupcakes.
Instructions
Getting Ready
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Line a standard sized muffin pan with 24 paper liners, and lightly spray the papers with non-stick baking spray.
Graham Cracker Crust
- In a bowl, combine the crushed graham crackers with the sugar and salt. Add the melted butter, and stir until moist and crumbly.
- Set aside 2 tbsp of the crumbs for decorating, and divide the rest evenly between the paper liners. Use a small glass (like a shot glass) to press the crumbs into an even layer in the bottom of the paper liners.
- Bake the crust for 5 minutes, then set the pans aside while you make the cupcake batter.
Vanilla Cupcakes
- Make the vanilla cupcake batter as instructed.
- Add the vanilla batter right on top of the graham cracker crust, filling the cups no more than 2/3 – 3/4 full.
- Bake the cupcakes for about 18 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched.
- Gently transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack, and cool completely before frosting.
Filling
- Use a cupcake corer to remove the centers of the cooled cupcakes.
- Fill the centers of the cupcakes with the cherry pie filling.
Frosting
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cold cream cheese with the powdered sugar on medium speed, for 1-2 minutes, until smooth.
- Scrape up the bowl, and add the vanilla and a small amount of the cream, beating again until smooth. Add the rest of the cream, and beat on medium high speed for several minutes. until thick and fluffy enough to hold its shape.
- Fit a disposable 16-inch piping bag with tip 1M, and fill half full with the whipped cream. Pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes, refilling the piping bag as needed.
- Sprinkle the frosting with the reserved 2 tbsp graham cracker crumbs, and decorate with fresh cherries. Refrigerate the cupcakes until ready to serve.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, they should be refrigerated due to the whipped cream frosting. You can store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
The frosting is stabilized with the addition of the cream cheese, and should not deflate. Of course, if you leave the cupcakes sitting out in extremely warm weather, or in the sun, then that can cause the whipped cream to melt.
You Might Also Like
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High Altitude Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 ½ cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Cupcakes
- 1 recipe High Altitude Vanilla Cupcakes
Filling
- 1 can cherry pie filling
Frosting
- 4 oz block cream cheese, cold
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups cold heavy whipping cream
- 24 fresh cherries, for decorating
Instructions
Getting Ready
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Line a standard sized muffin pan with 24 paper liners, and lightly spray the papers with non-stick baking spray.
Graham Cracker Crust
- In a bowl, combine the crushed graham crackers with the sugar and salt. Add the melted butter, and stir until moist and crumbly.
- Set aside 2 tbsp of the crumbs for decorating, and divide the rest evenly between the paper liners. Use a small glass (like a shot glass) to press the crumbs into an even layer in the bottom of the paper liners.
- Bake the crust for 5 minutes, then set the pans aside while you make the cupcake batter.
Vanilla Cupcakes
- Make the vanilla cupcake batter as instructed.
- Add the vanilla batter right on top of the graham cracker crust, filling the cups no more than 2/3 – 3/4 full.
- Bake the cupcakes for about 18 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched.
- Gently transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack, and cool completely before frosting.
Filling
- Use a cupcake corer to remove the centers of the cooled cupcakes.
- Fill the centers of the cupcakes with the cherry pie filling.
Frosting
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cold cream cheese with the powdered sugar on medium speed, for 1-2 minutes, until smooth.
- Scrape up the bowl, and add the vanilla and a small amount of the cream, beating again until smooth. Add the rest of the cream, and beat on medium high speed for several minutes. until thick and fluffy enough to hold its shape.
- Fit a disposable 16-inch piping bag with tip 1M, and fill half full with the whipped cream. Pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes, refilling the piping bag as needed.
- Sprinkle the frosting with the reserved 2 tbsp graham cracker crumbs, and decorate with fresh cherries. Refrigerate the cupcakes until ready to serve.
Heather Smoke
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
Jackie
Do you have a cookbook?