Cheesecakes are all-time favorites, but they can be quite messy when you divide them for children. Avoid the mess by learning how to make cheesecake cupcakes. These individual serving will be handy for picnics, children’s parties or informal get-together gatherings at home. It’s like having mini-cheesecakes for your event. All it takes is 80 minutes of your time. Here’s how to bake 12 cupcakes for a start:

1. Prepare all the ingredients. The preparation may take 40 minutes. You will need one12 ounce box of “Nilla” wafers and two cups melted butter or margarine for the crust. “Nilla” wafers are round wafers that are often eaten with milk as a snack. You will also need two eight-ounce packages of cream, two large eggs, half a teaspoon of vanilla and a three-fourths cup of sugar for the filling. Never use non-fat cream cheese

2. Check out your stock of supplies. You can bake comfortably if you have all these: a gallon-sized zip lock bag, regular sized cupcake papers, a muffin or cupcake pan, two large bowls, an electric mixer and a measuring cup for solid ingredients, which is different from a liquid measuring cup.

3. Place the “Nilla” Wafers in the gallon-sized storage bag and use a rolling pin to crush them into fine pieces. You can also put the wafers into a bowl and crush them by hand. Microwave the butter or margarine until it is fully melted. Combine crushed wafers and melted butter or margarine into a large bowl and mix until crushed wafers are moist. Making the crust should only take 10 minutes.

4. Microwave the cream cheese to soften it. Combine eggs, sugar, vanilla and softened cream cheese in a large bowl. Mix together until there are few or no large clumps of cream cheese left. Use an electric mixer for fast and easy mixing. This will create the filling within 10 minutes, although it might be a bit longer if you do the mixing manually.

5. Place a cupcake paper in each of the holders of a muffin or cupcake tray. Press a small layer of moist crumbs onto the bottom and sides of the cupcake paper to form the crust. Spoon the filling mixture into each crust until the filling is even with the top of the cupcake crust. If you have extra filling after you have filled all of the crusts, divide the extra filling between the cupcakes. This process of assembling the cake will take around 20 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the cupcakes for 15 to 20 minutes until the filling thickens. Do a random check by inserting a toothpick into any of the cupcakes. If it comes up clear, they are done! Cooking time should not be over 20 minutes.

7. Cool cupcakes in the refrigerator for approximately 20 minutes to let the filling harden. Top each cupcake with fruit topping or leave them plain. You can also do both or use a variety of toppings. Serve them on a tray.

Customize your cheesecake toppings according to the preferences of your group. Learning how to make cheesecake cupcakes with a variety of flavors in one batch is not a problem. You only have to modify the last step according to the desired toppings.