These gorgeous deconstructed strawberry cheesecake parfaits have all the flavour of a cheesecake without all the hassle. As easy to make as they are to eat!
I know it's winter here in Australia, and we're all craving lovely warming puddings, but yesterday was such a lovely day.
Despite the cold morning, you could have been forgiven for thinking it was summer, so I decided I wanted to celebrate it with these beautiful Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits.
I've not so patiently been waiting for strawberry season to start here in Queensland, and when we were driving home from the Noosa Food and Wine festival on the weekend and I saw one of the strawberry farms open I just had to get some. I didn't have a plan for what I'd make with the strawberries, I'd just been craving strawberries for so long I was a bit like a child in a lolly shop and ended up buying 1 kilogram of strawberries. With half chopped and tucked away in the freezer for a future recipe, I sliced the remaining fresh strawberries for my Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits.
I ended up buying 1 kilogram of strawberries. With half chopped and tucked away in the freezer for a future recipe, I sliced the remaining fresh strawberries for my Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits.
These strawberry cheesecake parfaits are easy to assemble, and if you don't feel like going to the trouble of making a crumble feel free to substitute in crushed biscuits or granola you might already have squirrelled away in the cupboard. But given it is winter, and crumbles are my favourite winter dessert I just couldn't resist the allure of the combination of smooth creamy cheesecake and crunchy crumble.
Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- STRAWBERRY SYRUP:
- 150 g of caster sugar
- 60 ml of water
- 4 large strawberries, diced
- CRUMBLE:
- ⅓ cup of plain flour
- 60 g of butter, chopped
- 2 tbs of brown sugar
- 1 tbs of white sugar
- 3 tbs of rolled oats
- 2 tbs of flaked almonds
- MACERATED STRAWBERRIES:
- 400 g of strawberries, sliced
- 1 tbs of sugar
- 2 teaspoon of Cointreau, optional
- CHEESECAKE:
- 400 g of cream cheese
- 250 g of mascarpone cheese
- Strawberry syrup
Instructions
- Begin by making the crumble. Preheat the oven to 180 celsius (350 fahrenheit). In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment combine all of the ingredients and turn on to the lowest speed. Mix until the butter resembles the size of peas. Pour the mixture onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Set aside to cool and use your fingers to crumble the mixture. Store in a container until ready to use.
- For the strawberries combine the sliced strawberries, sugar and cointreau in a bowl and cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
- To make the strawberry syrup place a smal saucepan over a medium heat and add the sugar and water and stir until the sugar is disolved. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the strawberries. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes to infuse before blending in a food processor.
- To make the cheesecake place the cream cheese, mascarpone and strawberry syrup in a food processor and process until smooth.
- To assemble alternately layer the macerated strawberries (along with some of the syrup from the strawberries) with the cheesecake mixture followed by the crumble mixture ending with the cheesecake mixture. Top with extra strawberries to decorate.
- Serve immediately if you'd like the crumble to remain crunchy.
kankana says
I love strawberries any time of the year and the same with parfait 🙂
delicieux says
Glad I'm not the only one 😀
Anna @The Littlest Anchovy says
These look lovely. Such beautiful layers of strawberry goodness. You are so lucky to have them in season up there!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
Love that combination of fresh strawberries and cream and this is a very elegant version of that classic combination!
delicieux says
Thanks Sylvie 😀
myfudo says
Anything with strawberries will always be a treat for me and my family. We have always been counting the days till strawberry season. This is a lovely dessert! Yum!
Jharna says
This recipe looks so good and your pictures are just amazing!
Liren says
For some reason, I thought I already left a comment but I am back to say that I just love these gorgeous parfaits! So beautiful and I do believe the crumble might be my favorite part. Well, alright, I love it all 🙂 Wishing you a lovely weekend!
delicieux says
Hi Liren,You already had a comment that I approved for this post, but thanks for commenting twice 😀
Jen Laceda @ Tartine and Apron Strings says
Amazing! This is something I'd like to try because it seems so easy 🙂 but yields a sophisticated product! By the way, just a quick question. So it's spring here in the northern hemisphere and also strawberry season. When do you get strawberry season over there? During YOUR spring or during OUR Spring (your autumn)? Hehe, sorry if it seems like a stupid question...
delicieux says
Hi Jen,It's not a stupid question at all. Strawberry season differs around Australia, as I imagine it would in the US too. I'm in Queensland, which gets very hot during summer, with it getting as hot as 40 degrees celsius (around 104 Fahrenheit), so our strawberry season runs from June (winter) to November (spring). In Tasmania, because it's quite a lot colder than the rest of the country their strawberry season is in summer. This website shows the calendar of strawberry seasons around Australia http://www.strawberriesaustralia.com.au/6860050/strawberries-australia-facts-figures.htm
balvinder ( Neetu) says
When I crave for something I just do not care about what weather it is. This is a yummy parfait with awe some flavors of mascarpone, crumble and macerated strawberries.
la fourmi élé says
It's just wonderful, perfect and looks really really good.Pictures are incredible!
Laura says
At the end of last year I started growing strawberries (with only a little success as I was a bit late for strawberry season!) I'm hoping to have a bit more luck this year and would love to make these!
sophistimom says
Oooh, and I love these, too. What a great idea to make just a crumble by itself to go in the parfait. You've inspired me.
Tara says
These were absolutely delicious! I love each of the components. Will definitely make again
Jennifer says
I'm so glad you enjoyed them. I love strawberries 😀
May says
Can this recipe become a cheesecake cake slice instead of being in a cup like a parfait? i tried this recipe with the parfait cup and I am in love with it! I refrigerate the cream (mix with mascarpone cheese and cream cheese) for about 3 hours and its somewhat firm. Wonder have you made it in a cheesecake cake.. not sure if you get me lol please let me know. Thank you!
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
I haven't tried making into a slice. It might work if you leave it in the fridge to set overnight, but I haven't tried i. If you do decide to give it a go I'd love to hear how it turns out 😀