junk food junkies can lose weight : lime curd cheesecake cupcakes

lime curd cheesecake cupcakes

almost too good to be true...

one serving is two cupcakes for me--you could even half this recipe if making four is too many to have sitting around tempting you--they would freeze very well if you could get them in the freezer--they would look like 'breakfast' to me if they lasted overnight at my house--so for one serving--beat the egg and use half which is 2 tablespoons--for the curd --use one tablespoon of the remainder for the cheesssecake portion--

and be careful to reduce your microwave times accordingly

that tiny amount will cook very fast

easier lime curd

for at (least) four cupcakes

~~what with all the sampling i do~~

1 large egg, well beaten
1/4 cup lime juice fresh, bottled or combination (could do lemon --i think the lime masks the sweetener better)
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut in small cubes
1/4 cup truvia* (*for other sweeteners, double the amount, use 1/2 cup)
1/2 tablespoon lime zest
16 oz. microwave safe container preferably with a handle for easy in & out the microwave

take a nice big pinch of the truvia and rub it into the zest to bring out the oils--it's ready when it's fragrant--about a minute or so
place egg in microwave safe container and beat it with a fork or whisk to a count of 100--tip the container slightly so that the egg puddles to one side and your strokes gather all of the egg up on each count
add all the ingredients into the beaten egg and whisk--will not look like curd--no worries
the object of the game is to microwave the mixture and whisk well before repeating the process until the mixture becomes thick
this will require three 15-second intervals whisking well after each to get the butter melted
then two to three 30-second intervals whisking well in between to get the mixture cooked into a curd--perhaps another one to two 15-second intervals if needed--whisk well at each interval
all microwaves are not created equal so heads up
mixture will become thicker, appear to have more body and leave soft 'tracks' when it's done
mixture will coat the back of a spoon as depicted in 'more detail and pictures' below

cheesecake
for four cupcakes

4 ounces cream cheese unwrapped and softened in microwave about 10-15 seconds
1 tablespoon of truvia (double this if other sweetener is used use 2 tablespoons)
1/2 egg--beat egg and use 2 tablespoons of it
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of lemon (optional)

after softening the cream cheese in microwave--wrap it back up for 3-4 minutes so it gets warmed up equally otherwise you can still get lumps--if you do get lumps you can push your mixture through a sieve or bake it lumpy as is--no worries
place cream cheese in mixer and cream well
add all the other ingredients and combine well
layer cheesecake mixture then curd then cheesecake mixture into four muffin wrappers
bake for 13-14 minutes at 325 degrees
i sometimes use a quick read thermometer and you want it about 145-150 degrees
serve with a dollop more of curd and whipped cream or whipped topping