Monday, March 26, 2012

White Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Strawberries


Cheesecake and fruit. These were the first two things my friend listed when I mentioned my plan to make him something for his birthday. Immediately I thought of those cheesecake stuffed strawberries that have been all over Pinterest. Yes, of course they look good, but not overly exciting. Not enough cheesecake filling! So, I decided to take strawberries, split them in half, pile on the cheesecake filling, cover them back up and then dunk them in white chocolate. If it were for myself I would have done milk chocolate, but I know he is a fan of white chocolate and I thought it would look nicer anyway. I didn't want to make the filling too sweet since I was also dunking in white chocolate, but you could easily add more powdered sugar as you go along if you find it is not sweet enough for you.

Not wanting to overwhelm him I only made 8, but you could change the ratios to make more or less. They were a bit messy, but he said they were really tasty. The cheesecake filling alone would make a great fruit dip! Okay, I confess...I dunked a strawberry or two in the leftover filling and I was not disappointed.

White Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Strawberries

How I did it


8 strawberries
5 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 bag good quality white chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli)
1/2 tablespoon canola oil (or shortening)

1. Wash, dry, and de-stem the strawberries. Set aside.

2. Beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until creamy.

3. Cut one strawberry at a time down the middle, lengthwise, and clean out any of the white in the middle. Scoop the cheesecake filling onto the freshly cut strawberry half and then lightly press the other half on top. Some filling should be sticking out of the sides and the top. This is good. Place on a tray and repeat for the other strawberries. When complete (it won't take long!) place your tray of cheesecake strawberries in the fridge to let the filling harden up a bit.

4. Pour about 1/2 a bag of white chocolate chips and a small amount of canola oil (you could also use shortening, but I prefer oil)  into a double boiler to melt. Do not let any water mix in or you will ruin your chocolate. You don't necessarily need a full 6 ounces/half bag, but you do want to make sure you have extra in there so there is plenty of white chocolate depth for dipping your your strawberry sandwiches will come apart! Take the strawberries out of the fridge one at a time and  holding at the top (larger) end dunk into the chocolate. Place on a tray and repeat for the rest of the strawberries. When done place the tray in the fridge. Once the white chocolate has hardened you can serve or put in an container to store in the fridge.

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