Sweet and Satisfying
Strawberry Chiffon Cheesecake Parfaits begin with a light and fluffy cheesecake mouse on top of a graham cracker crust, and topped with fresh strawberries. This easy dessert requires only stove top cooking and they are so pretty!
Graham Cracker Crust lays the foundation for a bed of fluffy pink cheesecake bursting with strawberry flavor. And for the finishing touch, top it off with freshly diced strawberries. Perhaps you would like to add a little chocolate to this dessert. Consider swapping out the graham cracker crust for a layer of Chocolate Sand.
The Cream Cheese
My original recipe called for Neufchatel Cheese which is a 1/3 lower in fat than original cream cheese. Even with this lower fat version, the chiffon cheesecake was still higher in calories than I wanted it to be. My goal was to produce a sweet satisfying dessert without giving up flavor or texture. Ultimately, I was able to achieve this by making my own non-fat cream cheese. I simply place two containers of Trader Joe’s Icelandic Nonfat Plain Yogurt in a strainer lined with cheesecloth. Twenty-four hours later you will be left with a smooth, creamy cheese which is the perfect stand-in for cream cheese. Experiment with your favorite yogurt to produce your own nonfat version of cream cheese or replace with a store bought version of fat-free cream cheese.
The Pretty Pink Flavor of Strawberry
To impart the flavor of strawberries into the cream cheese, I opted to use freeze dried strawberries ground into a powder, in a food processor. The use of this powder provides plenty of strawberry flavor without breaking down the chiffon, as well as, creating a beautiful pink-strawberry color. You can find freeze dried strawberries at health food stores, Trader Joe’s and here:
If you don’t want to take the time to grind it into a powder, it is also available in powder form. However, it is almost double in price.
The Crust
Traditionally, the crust would go into the bottom of the parfait as pictured above. However, if you are preparing this parfait to be served later, I recommend sprinkling the graham cracker crust on top just before serving. It has been my experience that the crust becomes soggy over a long period of time.
Additionally if you would like to change the flavor profile of this parfait by adding chocolate, consider swapping out the Graham Cracker Crust for my recipe for Chocolate Sand.
Weight Watchers and Waist Watchers
This recipe produces three cups of filling. Divide the filling into 6 equal servings of a 1/2 cup each. Each serving is 3 WW Smart Points. Top it with 1 Tablespoon of Graham Cracker Crust for an additional 2 points. A 1/2 cups serving of chiffon cheesecake plus 1 tablespoon of Graham Cracker Crust is 5 WW Smart Points. If you would like to shave off the extra points, simply omit the crust and top with fresh strawberries.
- 1/2 Cup Serving of Filling is 3 WW Smart Points
- 1 Tablespoon of Graham Cracker Crust is 2 WW Smart Points
- One serving of Strawberry Chiffon Cheesecake 5 WW Smart Points
Buon Appetito!
PrintStrawberry Chiffon Cheesecake Parfaits
A fluffy Strawberry Chiffon Cheesecake Parfait topped with Graham Cracker Crust and fresh strawberries, makes pretty dessert to welcome Spring.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 1 1/4 teaspoons Unflavored Gelatin (Half of a packet)
- 2/3 cup Pineapple Juice
- 8 oz package Fat Free Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature OR yogurt strained for 24 hours
- 42 grams Freeze Dried Strawberries (about 1 cup) ground into a powder
- 4 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs, separated
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
For the Crust:
- 20 Graham Cracker (5 Sheets), processed into crumbs
- 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Butter, melted
- 2 pinches Kosher Salt
Instructions
For the Graham Cracker Crust:
- Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter and mix well to combine, and store in an air-tight container.
For the Filling:
- In a food processor or blender, process the strawberries until it is a fine powder. Set aside.
- Beat the softened cream cheese in a bowl fitted with a paddle mixer. Combine the strawberry powder into the cream cheese and beat on high speed, until the mixture is creamy and smooth.
- In a small saucepan, combine together the gelatin and pineapple juice. Set aside and let bloom for about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites on high speed. Continue to whisk until stiff peaks form and set aside.
- Over low heat, stir the gelatin mixture, until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Remove from heat.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and sugar. Continue to whisk until the egg yolk begins to turn a pale yellow.
- To Temper the Egg Yolk: Add about 2 tablespoons of the warm gelatin mixture to the egg yolk, while whisking. It is important to add small amounts of the warm liquid while whisking to keep your eggs from becoming scrambled. This process is called tempering. Repeat this step adding two more tablespoons of warm liquid.
- Mix all of the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan with the remaining gelatin mixture, and over a medium-low heat cook stirring constantly. Cook until the mixture thickens slightly, about 3-5 minutes.
- On low speed gradually add about 1/3 of the gelatin mixture to the cream cheese mixture, mix until well blended before adding more gelatin. Repeat this two more time until all of the gelatin is incorporated. Remove bowl from the mixer.
- Gently fold in stiff egg whites. Continue to fold until the mixture is incorporated and you can no longer see large pockets of egg white.
To assemble parfaits:
Spoon about 1/2 cup of the chiffon filling into each serving cup. Repeat using the remainder of the filling mixture for the next five parfaits, and refrigerate until firm. About 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Before serving, sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon of Graham Cracker Crust and top with dice fresh strawberries.
Buon Appetitio!
Notes
One serving is 5 WW Smart Points.
If you would like to make these parfaits without the crust, you can reduce the points to 3 WW Smart Points per serving.
The Crust recipe makes 12 servings (12 Tablespoons) at 2 points per Tablespoon. Store the remaining crumb mixture in an air tight container, for other uses. Sprinkle it over puddings, ice cream or fresh fruit.
