Cheesecake-Stuffed Strawberries
These bite-sized beauties contain just 23 calories a pop. It's the perfect portion of rich, creamy filling combine with the sweetness of strawberries. Today
Servings: 40
Ingredients
- 1 cup part-skim ricotta
- 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
- 2 egg whites
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp lemon zest, plus addition for garnish (optional)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt or coarse sea salt
- 1 tbap cornstarch
- 40 strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- In a food processor, blend the ricotta cheese and cottage cheese until smooth. Add the egg whites, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, salt, and cornstarch, and pulse for a few seconds so everything comes together.
- Liberally coat a 9-inch round pan with nonstick oil spray and pour the cheese mixture into the pan. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool. (To cool more quickly, place the cheesecake in the freezer for about 15 minutes.)
- While the cheesecake is cooling, wash the strawberries and slice off the tips to create a flat surface for the berries to stand on. Then, using a small knife, cut off the green stem and crave a bit of the inner strawberry to make room to pipe in the cheesecake filling.
- When the cheesecake has cooled, scoop it into a zip-top bag (all at once or in small batches), and push the cheesecake down toward one corner. Using a pair of scissors, cut a small hole in the bottom corner of the bag to create an opening for the cheesecake mixture to flow out. Squeeze the cheesecake filling into each strawberry, using approximately 2 to 3 teaspoons per berry. Garnish with the additional lemon zest, if desired.