So you're walking through your friendly neighborhood market (super or otherwise), and you spy some lovely strawberries. Ripe and red and you can almost hear them whisper "Pick me! Pick me! We won't be here long!"
But then there comes the dilemma. What do you do with these lovely specimens of berrydom? Well, you could just slice them up and eat them. Totally acceptable. What about a nice, downhome strawberry shortcake? Delicious. Easy. Great idea. Or, if you really want to impress the socks off your family/guests/self, you could try this awesome white-chocolate-strawberry torte. Elegant, delicious, and (shh, don't tell) really easy.
I'll show you how. Go ahead, give in to the produce. Grab plenty of juicy berries and let's go....
The Step-By-Step
Make the Crust
Alright. First we need a chocolate cookie crust. So, if you want to make it yourself, click here for instructions (in the post for Snickers Ice Cream Pie). Or you can buy one, if available. I won't judge.
Make the Filling
Now we need the filling. So pour the cream in a smallish bowl. Sprinkle your unflavored gelatin on top. Put it in time out and let it think for 5 minutes. When it's done, give it a hug and stir the gelatin into the cream.
In another mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese til it's nice and creamy. Pour the cream mixture into it. Mix it until smooth.
Now put your creamy mixture into a saucepan over medium heat. Add your broken pieces of white chocolate to the mixture. (The only white chocolate I can get is this odd kind with little holes in it. It'll work if necessary. But if you can get the regular kind of plain white chocolate, that would be better.)
Stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
Pour your creamy stuff into your crust. It won't make a very deep layer. It's very rich so you only need a thin layer under the strawberries. Stick it in the fridge for a couple hours or overnight to set.
Now take your berries (washed and dried with paper towels and stems cut off), and arrange them artfully on top of your white chocolate layers. Drizzle with melted white or milk chocolate, OR you could garnish with chocolate curls. I like white chocolate curls the best, but like I mentioned, I have weird white chocolate here. So I went with milk chocolate drizzle. Looks awesome either way.
There you have it. Easy, impressive, and delicious. The strawberries are so glad you picked them.
The Recipe
MAKES 8 SLICES
Chocolate cookie crust
1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2/3 cup cream
1/2 cup cream cheese
1 cup white chocolate, (chips or broken in pieces)
2 - 3 cups whole strawberries, washed and dried with paper towel, stems cut off
White or milk chocolate for garnish
Pour the cream into a bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the cream and let sit for 5 minutes to soften. Then whisk it together.
In a separate mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add the cream mixture and mix until smooth again. Pour into a saucepan on medium heat.
Add the white chocolate to the cream mixture. Cook and stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour into the crust and refrigerate until set (1 1/2 hours or more).
Once the white chocolate layer is set, arrange strawberries on top, cut side down. Garnish with chocolate curls or melted chocolate drizzle. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
