When our friend Robin invited us over for dinner last night, I immediately offered to bring dessert.  And of course, I was thinking about making something chocolaty.  However, when I was meal planning earlier in the day, I came across a recipe for Strawberries with Cheesecake Cream that looked too good to pass up.  As much as I love chocolate, this sounded like the perfect summer dessert.

I wasn’t feeling the flavor combo in the original recipe (it calls for orange juice and orange liqueur), so I made a few changes.  Regardless, this dessert was a winner!  The cheesecake cream was lightly sweetened and had hints of vanilla, the strawberries were juicy and sweet, and the graham cracker crumble added the perfect crunch.

Deconstructed Strawberry Cheesecake
Inspired by Betty Crocker

Serves 4

4 sheets of graham crackers
2 teaspoons butter, melted
1/2 cup soft reduced fat cream cheese (from 8 oz. tub)
5 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups strawberries, sliced

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place graham crackers in a food processor and blend until crumbly.  In a small bowl, combine butter and graham cracker crumble.  Spread on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes.  In a large bowl, beat together the remaining ingredients, minus the strawberries, until smooth and creamy.  Divide the strawberries among 4 bowls/glasses, top each with about 1/4 cup of cream cheese mixture and finish off with graham cracker crumble.

YUM.  You don’t have to take my word for it though.  Andy, Robin’s husband, asked for the recipe after his first bite.  We all agreed that this was the way to go as far as summer desserts are concerned – light, simple, and delicious!

So yeah, make this ASAP.  Period.

What’s your favorite summertime dessert?