Stupendous Strawberry Torte Directions

May is Strawberry Month. It just happens to be my husbands favorite fruit and his birthday is at the end of May. This will be his "birthday cake" this year. If you follow the directions you will find this to be an easy recipe.

Did you know that strawberries are the most popular fruit in the U.S.? 80% of strawberries in this country are grown in the sunny state of California. Florida grows is the second state in line for strawberry crops. There are quite a few strawberry festivals throughout the U.S. as well - Monterey Bay Strawberry Festival, The California Strawberry Festival, The Strawberry Stampede, etc.

Enjoy this recipe by following the directions as is or make your own variation. After all, that's what makes a recipe truly your own and goes on to become a family favorite.

Ingredients

2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

11 oz cream cheese, softened

¾ cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 pint heavy whipping cream

2 (12 oz) packages ladyfinger cookies

If you followed these directions, I'd love to hear how your Strawberry Torte came out. However, if you changed things around and found a new family favorite, I'd love to hear what you did and how it came out. Enjoy!

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine sliced strawberries with ¼ cup sugar and corn starch. Refrigerate.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together cream cheese, ¾ cup sugar and vanilla extract. In a separate mixing bowl, beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold whipping cream into cream cheese mixture.

Place ladyfingers around the side and bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan (as used for cheesecakes).

Pour ½ of the cream filling into the pan. Lay down a layer of ladyfingers and then top with remaining cream filling. Pour fresh strawberries over the top.

Refrigerate. Remove from pan before serving.

Enjoy!

If you have any left over strawberries try this yummilicious dessert.

Strawberry Cheesecake Parfait

Ingredients

1 cup strawberries, sliced

1 tablespoon sugar, or sugar substitute

4 ounces cream cheese

2 tablespoons plain yogurt

1 tablespoon sugar, or sugar substitute

1 tablespoon milk

½ cup whipped cream or dairy topping

½ cup graham cracker crumbs

Directions

In a bowl, combine strawberries and 1 tablespoon sugar, mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese, yogurt, sugar and milk, whip until creamy. Fold in whipped cream. Layer the graham cracker crumbs, strawberries and cream mixture, ending with strawberries and a dollop of the cream mixture on top.

Did you follow these directions or did you change some. How did it come out? I'd love to hear from you.