Having lived abroad, where juicy, sun-ripened fruit falls off trees on every corner, for most my life, one thing I can concede is that nothing can match the strawberries here. They’re small, sweet and flavourful; and unlike most other fruit in the supermarket they’re both grown in Ireland and in season, meaning you don’t have to feel guilty about melting a polar bear’s home every time you buy a punnet. I myself bought four this week, and had to think of what to do with them all. I adapted this recipe from an online article, and it turned out to be incredibly tasty – and easy to make. The cheesecake strawberries are richer than the classic strawberry and cream combo, but much more flavourful. The topping can be adjusted to suit your own taste. I made it on the more tart side, as my strawberries were nearly overripe and were more sweet than tangy. Sugar in the form of maple syrup, honey and other alternatives will also add a different sweetness and flavour to the mix.

Cheesecake Strawberries

Total preparation time: 20 minutes
Makes approximately 20 strawberries

Ingredients:

• 2 large punnets of strawberries
• 165g cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ½ tablespoons caster sugar
• 2 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 digestive biscuits
• Toasted almond flakes

Method:

Mix the cream cheese, vanilla extract, sugar and lemon in a large bowl.

Slice the tops of the strawberries off, leaving a flat top.

Using an icing knife, spread a generous amount of the cream cheese mixture on the end of each strawberry.

Crush the almond flakes in a Ziploc bag and sprinkle onto cream cheese.

Chill the strawberries.

Crush the digestive biscuits in a Ziploc bag and sprinkle onto the strawberries just before serving, to avoid the crumbs becoming soggy.