“Cheesecake Twist” Stuffed Strawberries

The other night I was catching up on one of my favorite TV shows, Masterchef, and I watched as contestant after contestant walked up to the judge’s podium, proudly presenting what were supposed to be the best cheesecakes of their lives.

Watching close up shots of these big ass cheesecakes coated with graham cracker crumbs, doused in salted caramel, and berry compotes…I couldn’t even handle it. It was torture to watch. TORTURE!! By the end of the show I was wishing I could launch my face at the TV screen and have it land in one of those cheesecakes. If only…

It was about 11 o’clock at night and I sure wasn’t going to make a cheesecake right then and there. I resolved to going to bed and hoping the craving would be gone by morning.

And of course, it wasn’t. Cravings like that don’t go away. Do you get crazy cravings too? I don’t know why I get them so badly. My husband is actually terrified at the thought of me one day being pregnant, because if my cravings are this bad now…I’m going to be batty when pregnancy cravings happen.

I decided that instead of making a gigantic cheesecake, I would try to quell my craving with something similar. So I made these “cheesecake” stuffed strawberries.

Basically it’s just a cheesecake filling (cream cheese mixed with flavorings and sugar) piped into hollowed out strawberries. These stuffed strawberries remind me of that party dip made from cream cheese and marshmallow cream that people would serve with fruit.

Right now with the in-season strawberries flooding the grocery stores, these are a great summer dessert to make. To get the twist shape to happen, just take a star tip (this is the piping set I have) and keep rotating the strawberry around and around as you pipe the filling out. But really, if you’ve got a piping bag and tip, it’s hard to make these look bad.

You can also get creative with the topping here. I’ve seen people top the cream cheese filling with graham cracker crumbs, and I’ve also seen people dip the strawberries in chocolate. I was fine with just a little blueberry popped on top. Enjoy!!

And sorry if I gave you a craving for this recipe 😉

Here’s a video where I show you how to get that twisting motion just right:

Cheesecake Twist Stuffed Strawberries Recipe

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 package fresh strawberries
• 8 oz block cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• blueberries, optional

Directions:

1. Remove the stems from the strawberries, and using a melon baller, scoop out a hole from the top of each strawberry. Cut a small part of the bottom of the strawberry with a sharp knife to create a flat surface for the strawberries to stand on. Strawberry prep is done!
2. Using a hand mixer, mix together the cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract, until fluffy and light.
3. Transfer the cream cheese mixture to a piping bag lined with a star tip, and pipe the filling into each of the prepped strawberries. Top each cream cheese pile with a blueberry. Serve and enjoy!

All images and text ©Fifteen Spatulas.

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