Strawberry cheesecake

 

Yesterday I was inspired to make mini strawberry cheesecakes.  I saw a recipe online and then thought "I need to make these," so I did. They were actually pretty simple, and came out quite pretty and delicious. 

The first step is to rinse and hollow out the strawberries.  I did this using a very sharp paring knife and a lot of patience. There is definitely a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it's actually pretty easy. 

 

Next up is the cheesecake filling.  It is a combination of cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  Simply mix the three ingredients together until smooth. I used my mixer to do this, but a spoon or fork would work just fine too.

 

In order to put the cheesecake filling into the strawberries, you can use a frosting bag, or make your own.  I made my own this time using a snack sized zip lock bag.  First, scoop the filling into the bag and seal the top.  Then, cut off one of the corners to create a tip.  

  

    

With this contraption, it is easy to get the filling into the strawberries.

When they are filled, they look like this. 

Finally, you can dip the filled strawberries into toppings to form the "crust" of the cheesecake.  I used crushed graham crackers and mini chocolate chips.