Brownie + Strawberry Cheesecake Parfait

Ingredients

Layers of fudgy chocolate brownies, homemadestrawberry syrup, and cheesecake filling. These parfaits are the perfect easy make aheaddessert. Start with the strawberries as these are goingto need bit of time to sit. Remove the tops and cut them into quarters. You’ll need a punnet, about 250g or aroundhalf a pound. If strawberries aren’t in season where youlive you can substitute these with frozen, just give them time to come up to room temperaturebefore you use them. You could also use another type of fruit,a berry medley of raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries would work really well. If you would like the full recipe for thesecheesecake parfaits it will be on my website as well as the full measurements listed inthe information box below. Place the the strawberries into a small bowland sprinkle over a few tablespoons of granulated sugar. Use a spoon to toss the strawberries in thesugar until they are all evenly coated. This process is called macerating. The sugar draws out the natural juices fromthe fruit, creating a type of sweet strawberry syrup that works perfectly with many desserts. Leave the strawberries for about 30 minutesfor this process to take place or until you are ready to make the parfaits, overnightis fine. While you’re waiting on the strawberriesget started on the cheesecake filling. I’m keeping this part quite plain as thereis already so much flavour from the strawberries and brownies. In a small bowl add the room temperature creamcheese. Just remove it from the fridge an hour orso before you need to use it. Use a spatula to give it a mix to soften. To the cream cheese add a couple of tablespoonsof icing sugar or powdered sugar to sweeten it up. I don’t like adding to much sugar as thestrawberries are already super sweet. A few tablespoons is about the perfect amount. Fold the sugar into the cream cheese untilit is well combined and smooth. Switch to using a whisk and pour in 3/4 ofa cup of heavy whipping cream into the bowl with the cream cheese. Use the whisk to beat the ingredients togetheruntil the mixture starts to thicken. This should take less than a minute. You want it to be the consistency of softlywhipped cream. I like to add the cream this way before ithas been whipped as you have more control over the consistency of the cheesecake filling. The more you whisk it the thicker the mixturewill get. Leave the cheesecake filling in the fridgeuntil you are ready to make the parfaits. When you are ready to assemble the parfaitsstart with the brownie base. I’m using brownies that I baked a few daysbefore - you can get the recipe below or on my website. Take a few pieces, I like to use the edgesas these are super chewy and cut them into bit sized pieces. Place the brownies into the bottom of a coupleof glasses. This recipe is enough to make 2 but if youdo want to make more just double the recipe. If you don’t have brownies you can use storebought or any other kind of cake like baked goods. Top the brownies with some of the maceratedstrawberries. The syrup from the strawberries will sinkinto the brownies making them super sweet and fudgy. Lastly top with the cheesecake filling. You can serve these straight away or leavethem in the fridge for a few hours.