Lemon Strawberry Cheesecake

While looking for a festive, springtime dessert, I narrowed down the "flavor" option to a strawberry-lemon combination. These two recipes were the inspiration for my creation: Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake and Ladyfingers. First I made round-shaped "ladyfingers" for the crust of these individual cheesecakes. The filling was the same as our favorite no-bake-cheesecake, only with lemon juice added. One inspiration recipe suggested spooning the strawberries over the ladyfingers, but I was afraid that would be too soggy, so I tried swirling them into the batter (difficult for these mini ones), layering in the middle, and dolloping on top.

Maybe I should have stuck with the strawberries on the bottom, because the cookie base was a bit on the dry side. The paper cupcake liners, though, were thoroughly saturated; I should have followed my own idea of using foil ones. All-in-all, while delicious, this dessert wasn't a rousing success. That just means I can try something else next Easter!

Ladyfingers (small batch)

• 1 egg, separated
• 2 tablespoons sugar, separated
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup cake flour

Beat the egg white until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/2 the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Set aside. Beat the egg yolk with the remaining sugar, salt and vanilla until light in color and sugar has dissolved. Gently fold half the flour into the yolk mixture, then the egg white, then the remaining flour.

Carefully place batter in a pastry bag and pipe 1" by 3" strips on a lightly greased cookie sheet. (Or dollop with a cookie scoop.) Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, until barely golden. Remove and cool on a rack. Sprinkle again with powdered sugar if desired. Makes about one dozen cookies.

Note: One of the inspiration recipes (a berry tiramisu) used mascarpone cheese instead of cream cheese. Before deciding against that recipe, I searched for a possible substitute and found one. I'd like to remember it, so here it is:

Mascarpone Cheese Substitution

Combine 6 ounces cream cheese, 2 tablespoons sour cream and 3 tablespoons heavy cream.