Mascarpone Cheesecake Filled Strawberries
Transform luscious, juicy berries into a bite-sized dessert with this delectable recipe for Mascarpone Cheesecake Filled Strawberries.
These Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries are as tasty as they’re beautiful!!
Why You Must Make Stuffed Strawberries:
- I have been making cream cheese stuffed strawberries for many, many years. They are a gorgeous addition to a fruit tray or even as a healthier sweet on a dessert buffet.
- The iconic combination of strawberries and cream is perfectly demostrated in this easy recipe.
- My latest twist was to try Mascarpone Filled Strawberries. Don’t they look scrumptious? They’re “almost” a guilt-free dessert!
I’ve used Martha Stewart’s version with cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla, which were topped with toasted sliced almonds. I shared this recipe early in my blogging career, and it was recognized by the now-defunct Foodbuzz as one of their Top 9 posts. Such a thrill for a new blogger.
Stuffed Strawberries
When checking out dessert ideas on the Driscoll website, I spotted their version of stuffed strawberries. I quickly realized that my old recipe had just been trumped!
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Pick Ripe Strawberries
There are two seasons for beautiful, ripe strawberries here in the Midwest. Local strawberries ripen in late spring, then California strawberries fill in the gap for the rest of the summer. Around November, Florida’s crop is available, just in time for the holidays.
When choosing your strawberries, look for bright red berries with no white or green around the stem area. The exterior should look glossy and the tiny seeds should look fresh, not dry. There should be no blemishes, soft spots, or signs of mold.
Inhale and you should smell a lovely aroma of sweet berries. If they don’t smell like strawberries, they won’t taste like fresh ripe berries.
How Do You Hollow Out a Strawberry?
There are a few techniques. First, you can cut off the stem end and use a paring knife to carefully remove the core and expand the opening if needed.
There are also special coring tools designed especially for strawberries. You can also use a sturdy straw as your coring device. Remove the leaves and insert the straw into the core. It leaves a nice round opening that will need to be enlarged for stuffing.
And I haven’t tested this, but have heard you can grab the stem end, twist, and pull to remove the leaves and core.
What is Mascarpone Cheese?
Mascarpone is a soft, rich, buttery double to triple cream cow’s milk cheese that originated in the Lombardy region of Italy.
If you have trouble finding mascarpone in your market, it’s easy to make Homemade Mascarpone Cheese in your kitchen! You may also substitute cream cheese in a pinch.
Tips for Filling Your Strawberries Stuffed with Mascarpone Cheese
- You don’t need a fancy piping bag and tip to make these. I have always used a Zip-loc bag with the corner cut off to fill my strawberries. Feel free to top yours with sliced almonds; they add a nice crunch to contrast with the sweet juicy berries and creamy filling.
- You can stuff from either end of the berries. If you choose to fill from the tip end (top photo), first cut off the stem so the bottom is flat. Then from top to bottom, cut almost all the way through with two perpendicular slices. Make sure not to cut all the way through the berries.
- Alternatively, you can fill the strawberry from the stem end. In this case, I cut a small slice off the tips of my berries. This allows them to sit upright on a platter without wobbling. Then using a paring knife, I open up a cavity in the stem end for the mascarpone mixture.
- These mascarpone-filled strawberries would be a nice surprise for your sweetie on Valentine’s morning. I think mine would faint if I made him breakfast!!! Granted, he does leave the house before 6 AM. At least that’s my excuse for now.
- PRO-Tip: Some mascarpone is looser than others. You’ll need a firmer version, more like cream cheese, or your filling will be too soft to pipe or stuff your berries. (Vermont Creamery brand, though delicious, was not firm enough).
More Fresh Strawberry Recipes You’ll Love:
- Fresh Strawberry Margaritas from A Spicy Perspective
- Strawberry Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Frosting from Spend with Pennies
- Fresh Strawberry Pie from Brown Eyed Baker
- Strawberry Souffles with Fresh Strawberries
- Strawberry Cream Pie
- Mascarpone Cheesecake with Balsamic Strawberries
- Try my Homemade Mascarpone Cheese, too!
Mascarpone Filled Strawberries
Sweet ripe strawberries filled with mascarpone cream.
Ingredients
- 16 large strawberries
- 1/2 cups Mascarpone cheese
- 1/4 cup cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Prepare strawberries. To make the presentation in the top photo, trim off stem end, then place stem end down on a cutting board. Cut berry into quarters from top to almost the bottom of the berry, taking care not to cut all the way through. Place berries stem side down of serving platter.
- An alternative is to trim a bit off the non-stem end to allow for the berry to stand upright. Slice off stem end and remove the core. Place these on the platter with the stem side up.
- To make filling, beat Mascarpone with cream, sugar and vanilla till smooth. Put filling into a piping bag fit with a star tip or even a Zip-loc bag with just a corner cut off. Pipe the filling into the the middle of each berry. Garnish with a small sprig of mint if desired.
Notes
Look for red, fragrant strawberries for the best results.
The recipe is adapted from Driscoll's.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
2 strawberriesAmount Per Serving: Calories: 86Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 62mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 3gProtein: 1g
72 Comments on “Mascarpone Cheesecake Filled Strawberries”
This is a beautiful treat for Valentine’s day, Liz! I could eat my weight in strawberries and I love the mascarpone!
They are so pretty Liz! I can’t wait for the strawberry season to begin!
What a great combination! A perfectly perfect Valentine’s Day treat. (I can’t believe it is almost here!) Sharing that scone recipe anytime soon?
The scone recipe is coming up on February 25…drop me an email if you’d like it sooner, Debra 🙂
Liz, what a delicious combination – fresh ripe sweet strawberries and mascarpone whipped cream, this certainly sounds like a delectable dessert and it is so very pretty. By the way the Vanilla Bean Scones sound wonderful, Now I am curious which recipe you used.
What a pretty presentation!
Very pretty Lizzy 😉
I like simple recipes, your strawberries make a lovely Valentines dessert 🙂
I don’t know why ? But I realized today that I’m not getting your blog updates in my email anymore, so I’ll subscribe again and hope it works!
Hi Lizzy, I just had a chicken curry accepted on Tastespotting and what did I see right beside it? Your gorgeous strawberries. What were the odds! And these would be just perfect after an Indian curry xx
The strawberries turned out beautiful. I love this idea and I think it would be great for a valentine treat too.
That’s areally nice way to serve strawberries!
Lovely Miss Lizzy! Just lovely! I’m going to hope someone gives me a plate of these for Valentine’s day, oh and I’d like that pretty towel and little glass cake plate too please!
These are beautiful and so perfect for Valentine’s Day! I can only imagine how wonderful they must taste!
I don’t like whipped cream, but i LOVE mascarpone, so these sound amazing! What a great, healthier Valentine’s day treat!!
Mascarpone makes everything better! I just about always have some in my fridge because you can use it in so many different ways. Just gorgeous Liz!
This is amazing Liz, so pretty and this will be my valentine’s dessert. Can I fill them with a night or few hours before?
They couldn’t be simpler and yet are so effective visually. I was wondering how come you had strawberries in the middle of winter but I guess these days they can produce anything anytime by imitating nature. I do love mascarpone.
Those are gorgeous, Liz! Mascarpone is one of my favorite things and I NEVER turn down strawberries!
Lizzy,
The strawberries look delicious. What a wonderful presentation.
These strawberries look so fancy and pretty. I love how you did them in both directions. 🙂 It will make any Valentine’s Day or any day special. 🙂
Lizzy these are the most beautiful strawberries I seen
Love them so much
Gorgeous, Liz! You can never go wrong with strawberries and mascarpone :).