Strawberry Cheesecake Fools
Fruit:
- 4 cups (about 455 grams or 1 pound) strawberries
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about ½ lemon)
- 7 Carr’s Whole Wheat Crackers, or 2 ounces (55 grams) of another digestive biscuit
- ¼ cup (25 grams) dark brown sugar
- Pinch of ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup (175 ml) heavy or whipping cream
- 6 ounces (170 grams) cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup (25 grams) granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
It’s that delicious, a pudding of a cheesecake as pretty as a ribbony striped candy cane.
- Hull and quarter the strawberries. Whisk together the granulated sugar and the cornstarch. Stir together the strawberries, sugar-and-cornstarch mixture, and lemon juice in a 2-to-3-quart saucepan, and let it stand, stirring occasionally, until juicy, about 15 minutes. Bring the strawberries to a simmer over medium heat, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover, and chill completely in fridge, about 1 to 2 hours.
- Once it’s fully chilled, set a strainer over a bowl and pour the strawberry mixture into it. No need to strain the berries fully (i.e., over a long period of time)—you’re just looking to remove a bit of the excess juiciness. Reserve ¼ cup of the strained juice, and set aside.
- Grind the crackers, brown sugar, and cinnamon together until powdery. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, beat the whipping cream with a hand mixer until it holds stiff peaks; then set aside. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in the whipped cream. Remove ½ cup of the cream-cheese–whipped-cream mixture and set it aside. Fold the ¼ cup of reserved strawberry juices into the larger volume of cream cheese and whipped cream.
- Line up six champagne flutes or other tall, narrow 4-ounce glasses. In the bottom of each glass (using one of those long teaspoons from your grandmother that you never use for anything else, or something along those lines), layer 1 tablespoon of the cooked strawberry mixture, followed by 1 tablespoon of the crumb mixture, followed by 3 tablespoons of the strawberry-flavored cream cheese and whipped cream (you know, the pink stuff), followed by another tablespoon of crumbs and another tablespoon of strawberries. Add a dollop of the reserved, strawberry-free cream cheese and whipped cream to the top of each flute. Sprinkle some remaining brown-sugar–cracker crumbs for garnish. Chill for 30 minutes or up to 3 days, and serve cold, with those very long spoons.