Valentine's Treats: Cream-Filled Strawberries

A long time ago, my neighbor brought my family the most delicious treat--strawberries filled with cream. Not only were they pretty, they tasted fantastic.

I scoured my cookbooks and the internet to find the recipe. I found a great one over at The Joy of Baking. Her recipe calls for mascarpone, which would be a lot better than cream cheese. But, since I only had cream cheese on hand...well, I used that instead. And I tweaked it a bit more.

I added a bit of lemon juice to brighten it up, along with some vanilla extract. My sister and I enjoyed a few yesterday after lunch. You can't stop at just one.

Cream-Filled Strawberries

Ingredients:
12-16 (more or less depending on the size) large strawberries
4 oz. cold heavy cream
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2-4 Tbsp. confectioner's sugar (make is as sweet as you like)
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
a little vanilla extract

Instructions:
Beat the cream cheese and confectioner's sugar with an electric mixer. Add the heavy cream. Continue beating until the mixture thickens. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Place in the fridge for several hours, or overnight.

Cut an "X" into the bottom of each strawberry.

Fit a pastry bag with a star tip and fill it with the cream. Carefully pipe the cream into the center of each strawberry, allowing some of it overflow from the cuts you made on the strawberry.

Serve immediately, or cover with plastic film/wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. Print this post