Everywhere you look right now, everything seems to be served in mini form and dessert seems to be the favorite thing to shrink. From cake pops to mini parfaits. I guess we are all so conscious about over indulgence and portion control but still want to be able to have that little something to round out a wonderful meal.
Personally I love the idea of mini dessert because I love dessert and I'm really bad at one or two bites and stopping, especially with cheesecake! I think they actually say that the pleasure sensors in your brain stop having as high a reaction after the second bite. I'm not sure my brain is wired that way, I enjoy every bite!!!
Anyhow for the shower the practicality of making a strawberry cheesecake wasn't there. However mini parfaits worked out perfect.
The first time I made them my friend Nancy came over for lunch and I asked if she minded if I used her as a guinea pig. (Have a mentioned that I have a wonderful bunch of friends that let me experiment on them?). I used some small glasses I had so they were larger than the mini cubes.
I was going to make them with regular graham crackers but those things don't last long around here as they are a favorite with my husband and boys. They had finished off the large FAMILY SIZE box of them the day before. All I had was chocolate graham cracker teddies! It was teddy carnage when I took the rolling pin to the ziploc filled with them but they had to be sacrificed for the greater good of dessert exploration. Well that was the end of plain graham crackers. You can use plain if you prefer but the addition of the chocolate just makes this delicious! I used actual chocolate graham crackers for the one pictured; no more chocolate Teddies were harmed!
You can make these up to a day a head but they are better served right after you make them. I just covered them with cling wrap and put them in the fridge.
I now have a bug for wanting to make more mini desserts and I think I will have to get one of those glass mini dessertware sets. I think they are a great indulgence without the guilt of eating a huge dessert. And perfect for any dessert buffet table!
Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits
Makes 40 mini 3inch cube parfaits
Ingredients:
1 lb of strawberries
3 T sugar, divided
2 packs of chocolate graham crackers crushed
16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup of sour cream
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup whipping cream
Directions:
1. Slice the strawberries and place in a bowl.
2. Add 1 Tbsp of sugar. Stir to evenly coat and set aside.
3. In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
4. Add the sour cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. Continue to beat until combined.
5. In a separate bowl mix the whipping cream and 1 Tbsp of sugar (the sugar will help make it whip quicker) until stiff peaks form. Do not be tempted to us Redi Whip, it won't take long to make it fresh and you may even burn a few extra calories.
6. Gently fold the whipping cream into the cream cheese mixture.
To assemble:
7. Place a Tbsp of the graham crackers in the bottom of each dish.
8. Add a Tbsp of the cream cheese mixture.
9. Add a tsp of the strawberries.
10. Add one last layer of the cream cheese mixture.
11. Place a strawberry on top for garnish.
12. Cover a refrigerate until ready to serve.
Happy Home Cooking!
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