Cheesecake Flowers Topped with Candied Strawberries

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the sour cream and the mascarpone on low speed for a few seconds, until combined.

2. Fold in the sugar (I like it when it’s mildly sweet; you can add another 1/4 cup of sugar if you like it sweeter).

3. Fold in the vanilla seeds by scraping the vanilla bean carefully with a knife (you can use a rubber spatula instead of a stand mixer to combine).

4. Fill a patterned baking dish of your choice with the cheesecake mixture, up to 3/4 full. Please note that if you choose a baking dish with small-sized flowers/other patterns, you might need to fill it more than once, until you use up all of the cheesecake mixture. I chose my aebleskiver pan, because it creates beautiful half-ball shapes which resemble a flower (I filled it about 2-3 times, but it takes just a few minutes!).

5. Place the candied strawberries on top of the cheese mixture and freeze.

6. Before serving, take the flowers out of the freezer and let rest for a few minutes.

7. Gently press the candied strawberry with your thumb, at the edge of each flower, and it will slide out easily.

8. Pin each flower on a skewer and place it in a vase.

The cheesecake flowers can be frozen in the baking dish for about 2 weeks, tightly wrapped with a plastic wrap. They should be served unfrozen, when they have a creamy texture, and the candied strawberries are soft.

Enjoy!