If you want to show someone your love, you give them chocolate-covered strawberries. But if you really want to win them over, Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cheesecakes are the way to go. First of all, they’re a work of art and look so fancy, but your special someone will never know that they weren’t that hard to make. The foundations are made up of actual creamy, graham-cracker-crusted mini cheesecakes. To add some pizzaz, juiciness, and a whole lot of sweetness atop these delicate treats, a smooth layer of rich chocolate hardens on top of fresh, radiant strawberries. Sounds like a dessert straight out of the gushiest romantic comedy! Make sure your love feels the love and surprise them with Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cheesecakes!
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- salt, to taste
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
- 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, whites and yolks separated and room temperature
For the chocolate shell topping:
- 10 ounces chocolate melting wafers
- 12-15 strawberries
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Step 2 –Place cupcake liners in a 12-cup muffin tin.
Step 3 –In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the salt, and the melted butter.
Step 4 –Drop rounded tablespoons of the batter into the prepared muffin liners in the tin.
Step 5 –Lightly press the crumbs into the bottom of the liners to create a crust.
Step 6 –Bake the crusts for 8 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Step 7 –In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, the remaining sugar, the remaining salt, and the vanilla until it is fully combined and creamy.
Step 8 –Beat the egg yolks into the cream cheese mixture, one at a time.
Step 9 –In a small bowl using a whisk or a head mixer, beat the egg whites until they are frothy and doubled in size.
Step 10 –Gently fold the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture, mixing it to a smooth, yet thin consistency.
Step 11 –Divide the cream cheese mixture amongst the 12 muffin liners on top of the crusts until the cups are almost full.
Step 12 –Bake the cheesecakes for 20 minutes.
Step 13 –Let the cheesecakes rest for 20 minutes until the filling returns to a normal shape. Don’t worry if there are cracks on the surfaces, they will be covered.
Step 14 –Chill the cheesecakes for at least 2 hours and up to overnight before topping.
Step 15 –When the cheesecakes are almost finished chilling, use a double broiler to gently melt the chocolate wafers, stirring occasionally to combine. Alternatively, use the microwave to melt it in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval.
Step 16 –Transfer the chilled cheesecakes from the liners and use a kitchen spoon to pour the chocolate on top of the cake, making sure to cover the entire surface. To get the dripping effect seen in the photo, gently press the melted chocolate over the edges.
Step 17 –Allow the chocolate shell to harden on the cheesecakes.
Step 18 –Dip the strawberries into the bowl of the remaining melted chocolate and rest a coated berry on top of each cheesecake.
Step 19 –Chill the cheesecakes until ready to serve.