These Berry Cheesecake Muffins bring bright berries and a creamy cheesecake center together in one soft, flavorful bite. The tender muffin base holds juicy berries, while the cheesecake center adds richness without heaviness. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or snacking, especially on Valentine’s Day!
I used our perfect Blueberry Muffin recipe as a jumping off point, so these will taste similar, with a few extra special tweaks. They store well, too, so whip up a batch the night before, and they’ll be all ready to pull out the next morning!
Ingredients Needed
- Streusel Topping
- sugar
- flour
- graham cracker crumbs
- cold butter
- Cheesecake Filling
- cream cheese – regular or low fat, I would avoid non-fat
- sugar
- orange zest
- egg yolk
- Muffins
- flour
- baking powder
- salt
- sugar
- orange zest
- egg
- buttermilk
- canola oil
- vanilla
- fresh or frozen berries raspberries or blueberries – avoid strawberries. You can use fresh or frozen berries. I use frozen berries in baking about 95% of the time. They’re so much cheaper than fresh berries and they turn out great when used in baked goods. Just don’t defrost them, you always want to keep berries frozen when baking.
- Special Equipment
- If you don’t yet own a microplane zester, definitely grab one! It’s a staple in my kitchen, and the absolute best thing for zesting citrus.
- I really love the foil-lined liners. They’re different than a standard foil liner, it’s more of a combination of paper and foil and they’re especially strong. These muffins are pretty hefty, so they do well in the extra sturdy liner.
How to Make Berry Cheesecake Muffins
- Prep the muffin pan and oven; make streusel topping and chill while you prepare the rest.
- Mix cheesecake filling until smooth and set aside.
- Whisk dry muffin ingredients, then stir in wet ingredients until just combined.
- Toss berries with a little flour and sugar, then gently fold into batter.
- Fill muffin cups, add a small dollop of cheesecake filling to each, and top with streusel. I find easier to fill up the muffins entirely with batter first, and then stick the tip of your ziplock bag right in the top and squeeze it in.
- Bake until set with a few moist crumbs, then cool briefly before transferring to a rack.
Storage & Other Tips
- Storing: Because these muffins contain a cream cheese filling, they should be refrigerated after cooling completely to keep them safe and fresh. Store in an airtight container for 4 – 5 days.
- Avoid Condensation: Definitely avoid covering the muffins while they are still warm. Condensation can make them soggy. Let them cool fully on a rack before storing.
- Prep Ahead of Time: You can prep and bake these ahead of time, and pull them out in the morning for an easy breakfast.
- Freezing: To freeze, wrap each cooled muffin individually or place them in a freezer bag or container; they’ll keep for a few months. Thaw at room temperature or in the fridge before serving.
- For Best Texture and Flavor: bring chilled muffins to room temperature before eating. You can warm them up in the microwave for a few seconds, or in a low oven.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can. Be aware it might turn your batter purple, so fold very gently. They might release a bit more juice. I use frozen most of the time, unless I really have some berries that need to be used up.
No, use them frozen. If you thaw them, they will release too much liquid, and the batter will be too wet and affect the texture. You’ll also get more color bleeding, and soggier pockets. The overall structure will be weaker, and all of that extra moisture will prevent a proper rise.
The light dusting of flour helps suspend the berries in the batter instead of letting them all sink to the bottom, and the sugar gives a bit of sweetness and helps balance tartness.
Yes, you can bake them in a mini muffin tin. The bake time will be shorter, so watch them closely, and the cheesecake dollops will be smaller.
Berry Cheesecake Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 ½ tablespoons flour
- 1 graham cracker crushed to crumbs (a heaping 2 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons butter cold
Cheesecake Filling
- 4 ounces cream cheese low-fat is fine
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon orange zest
- 1 egg yolk
Muffins
- 1 ¾ cups + 1 tablespoon flour divided
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoons table salt
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar divided
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1 egg large
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup fresh or frozen berries raspberries or blueberries, avoid strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Streusel
- In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour and graham cracker crumbs. Cut butter in small chunks and toss with streusel ingredients. Use a fork, or clean hands, to crumble it together, breaking up the butter into small crumbly pieces. Place streusel mixture in fridge.
Cheesecake Filling
- Beat all cheesecake ingredients together until smooth. Set aside.
Muffins
- Combine 1 ¾ cup flour, baking powder, salt, ½ cup sugar, and orange zest in a bowl. Whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, combine egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not over-beat. Place berries in a bowl (do not thaw frozen berries) and sprinkle over remaining 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon sugar. Toss together and then add to muffin mix. Gently stir just until distributed.
- Fill muffin cups with batter. Place cheesecake mixture in a zip-top bag and snip on the corner. Gently squeeze about 2 teaspoons of filling directly into the batter. It’s okay if it’s visible on the top. Evenly divide streusel topping on muffins.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the muffin part comes out with just loose crumbs attached. Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove from muffin tin and place on cooling rack. Let cool to room temperature.
Questions & Reviews
I was really craving muffins this morning and I am a sucker for all things with berries, so of course as soon as I saw these I HAD to have them. Then realized that I didn’t have any sugar! Or Oranges for zest, or graham crackers. I was not going to be deterred though so I substituted 1/2 honey and 1/2 brown sugar for the white sugar, a few drops of lemon oil for the zest, and made a traditional cinnamon streusel for the top. Not only that but I used all whole wheat, and they were still awesome! I had to stop myself after 3! I’m sure the original recipe is even more amazing, so it’s probably a good thing I had to modify it. I would definitely eat them all!
I made these over the weekend. They tasted delicious! But my cheesecake batter was a lot more runny than yours, making it harder to fill the muffin with and the cheesecake part of the muffin didnt really come out as distinct. The only thing I can think of that went wrong is that I accidentally put a whole egg in the cheesecake batter instead of just the yolk. I wonder if that made such a difference? I WILL be making these again bc they were great anyway!
I made these last night for our Valentine’s breakfast today and they are AMAZING! Quite possibly the best muffins I’ve ever had. 🙂 I couldn’t help eating one fresh out of the oven and it was the best! And the idea of using graham crackers in the streusel is genius. 🙂
If I have fresh berries, do I need to freeze them first??
Nope. Keep fresh, fresh and frozen, frozen 🙂
By chance did you try these with some or all white wheat flour? I often use half and half (all-purpose & white whole wheat) in my baking and usually turns out fine, but just curious.
Nope, I make them with all-purpose. If you try it, let me know!
I am intrigued by this idea of graham cracker streusel…sounds like it would be delicious on banana chocolate chip muffins! I think the only “cream cheese” in the house is herb and chive tofutti, but I imagine they’d be delicious without the filling too.
Yep, you can totally skip the filling. The basic muffins are absolutely delish 🙂
Yes they are! Their basic blueberry muffin recipe is my go-to!
Yum. My kids will flip for this fun breakfast surprise!
love your website. Really appreciate the health thing, but I gotta say I was relieved to see a recipe not involving granola or kale 🙂 Nice to see both sides. You guys are awesome.
Haha, I hear ya 🙂 Kate and I laugh because every January people BEG for healthy recipes, and by every February everyone is whining about the healthy recipes, lol! All things in moderation, right? That’s my motto 🙂
Yum! I just love the cheesecake paired with the muffins in here. Awesome!
I love that you thought this up while you were working out! It shows just how balanced you are. And yes, please, on the muffins!