Stuffed Strawberries

I love berries.  I especially love fresh strawberries.  They are the perfect combination of sweet and juicy with that little hint of tartness.  They just taste like summer to me.

But even strawberries, in their mouth-watering perfection, can be tweeked just a bit to become a masterpiece.

This is the recipe that will raise strawberries to a new level.  These berries are filled with a rich, buttery cream filling.  We're not talking plain ole' whipped cream from a can; we're talking heavy cream, marscapone cheese, vanilla...wonderful, amazing ingredients that elevate the strawberry to a work of art.

It's impressive; fancy; visually appealing....

And it's easy.  So incredibly easy, my friends.  Plus, with only five ingredients, it won't break the bank.  I adapted this from a recipe at http://www.joyofbaking.com/  They have some amazing stuff over there; you should check it out some time.  But first...

Here's what you need to round up:

Heavy whipping cream, Marscapone cheese, sugar, vanilla, and strawberries.

Marscapone is a creamy, buttery Italian cheese that is related to cream cheese.  It's usually used in tiramisu, but I absolutely love it in this recipe. 

To get things started, toss the marscapone and the cream into your mixer.

Give it a good mix...

Add the vanilla and sugar

And continue whipping until the mixture starts to form soft peaks.

When you pull your beater out of the bowl, you want a nice peak that bends over just like that.  It means you've reached cream-filling perfection.

Now grab one of your beautiful strawberries.  You can use any size, but I like the big jumbo ones the best.  It makes for an impressive presentation.

Cut in in half almost all the way down...

Then turn it 90 degrees and make another cut.  We're just cutting an X into our berry.

Gently open the strawberry up.  It kinda looks like a tulip; or maybe a man-eating martian plant.  You pick.

Now grab a handy-dandy ziplock bag and cut the end off of one of the bottom corners.  Stick it into a drinking glass with the cut corner down.

Fill the bag with the creamy goodness...

Pull it out, give it a twist, and use it to fill your cut strawberries.

Voila!  Instant, easy, and completely impressive dessert!

Luscious...

Beautiful.  Now I have to go and eat these before the vultures (otherwise known as my children) descend and leave me with nothing but sticky fingerprints.

Hope you get a chance to try these soon!


Stuffed Strawberries
1/3 cup Marscapone cheese
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
10-12 large strawberries

Whip cheese and cream together until soft peaks form.  Add in sugar and vanilla, blend until incorporated.  Cut an X in the strawberries almost until you reach the bottom.  Fill a pastry bag or ziplock with cream mixture.  Fill berries with cream.  Enjoy!