16ounces(454g)fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and diced
6ounces(170g)fresh raspberries, washed and patted dry
1teaspoongranulated sugar
Crust:
9rectangular graham crackers, 1 sleeve of crackers, crushed into fine crumbs
4tablespoons(57g)salted butter, melted
1tablespoongranulated sugar
Cheesecake:
16ounces(454g)light cream cheese, softened
½cup(57g)powdered sugar
1teaspoonfresh lemon juice, just a squeeze
½teaspoonvanilla extract
1cuplow fat Greek vanilla yogurt (see note)
Instructions
For the berry topping, combine the strawberries, raspberries and sugar in a medium bowl. Give the mixture a good stir and let it sit for 10-15 minutes while the rest of the dessert is being made and assembled. The berries will macerate - which basically means the sugar will help the fruit become a bit syrupy while resting.
For the crust, combine the crushed crackers with the sugar and butter; mix. Divide the mixture evenly among 8 (6- to 8-ounce) bowls, ramekins or individual trifle dishes and press lightly into the bottom of the dishes.
For the cheesecake, in a medium bowl (or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer), beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together until the mixture is very light and creamy, 2-3 minutes. Mix in the lemon juice and vanilla. Add the yogurt and beat until well-combined and fluffy, 30 seconds to a minute.
Give the fruit/sugar mixture a good stir. Spoon a bit of the fruit mixture on top of each crust (keep in mind you'll only use half for this layer; the other half will go on top of the cheesecake layer).
Spoon an even amount of cheesecake filling on top of the fruit (about 1/3 cup or until all the filling is divided evenly among the dishes) and top with a spoonful of the remaining fruit.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Yogurt: I use thick Greek yogurt (vanilla or honey-vanilla flavored). If you use non-Greek yogurt, the cheesecake mixture might be a bit thinner so experiment accordingly. If you have homemade yogurt, that could work as well - the thicker the better (if your yogurt is plain, consider adding a bit of honey or agave nectar or sugar to sweeten it up just slightly). Berries: keep in mind that since the fruit mixture is spooned over the crust, if the assembled desserts are refrigerated or sit longer than 30 minutes, the crust may get a bit soft or dare I say, soggy. If you want to avoid that, you can omit spooning berries over the crust and instead top the cheesecake filling with the entire allotment of berries for each serving. Sugar: if your fruit isn't really ripe/juicy, you may want to increase the sugar just a bit in the berries.