Cheescake Stuffed Strawberries

First of all, allow me to apologize for the inconsistent blogging. I promise that once school is finished (5 more days, woo hoo!), I will be much more consistent. Besides, Tim and I have our annual Christmas cocktail party next weekend, so many a yummy plate will be made. Stay tuned for those yummy recipes....

Anyway, without much further ado, I present one of the best non-baked desserts I have ever made: strawberries stuffed with cheesecake, dipped in creamy milky chocolate, and drizzled in white chocolate, although that part is mostly for effect :)

Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to take picture of every step. I was in a bit of a rush to prepare something for dinner at Kasey's before the Agora Christmas Party. I did, however, get a picture of the final results and I will provide much details on the directions. It's really quite easier than it sounds.

Here we go:

1. First, hollow out the insides of the strawberries. You can use as many or as little as you want. I used a little less than two cartons as it really isn't strawberry season and the pickins were slim. The easiest way to do this is to use the small side of a melon baller. If you don't have one of those, you can just use a small, sharp knife.

2. As you hollow out the strawberries, lay them face down on a paper towel so that they can drip dry.

3. To make the cheesecake filling combine 12 oz. of cream cheese softened for 30 seconds in the microwave, 3 tablespoons of confectioner's sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Combine until it is well mixed.

4. Spoon the mixture into a plastic ziploc bag, seal the bag, and smush all of the mixture into one corner. Snip off a tiny piece of the corner of the bag. Yes, I know this is essentially a pastry bag, but who wants to buy one of those when ziplocs work just as well? Not me!

5. Gently squeeze the mixture out of the corner of the bag into the hollowed out strawberries in a swirling motion allowing the mixture to come out over the top of the strawberry just slightly.

6. Next, melt your chocloate. For the sake of time, I used the dipping chocolate you can buy at the store and simply melt in the microwave, but you can do it however your little heart desires.

7. Dip the bottoms of the strawberries into the melted chocolate and sit them on parchment paper. Place the strawberries in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes so that the chocolate can harden.

8. This next part is purely optional...Melt white chocolate in the same manner as the milk chocolate and use the end of a spoon to drizzle it in a zigzag pattern over the strawberries.

And voila! you're done. Pretty easy, huh? But they look gorgeous and taste just as good.

Here are a couple pictures of the final product!




P.S. I am well aware that my talent as a food photographer is not existent, but you get the idea...