We’ve been loaded with fresh berries the past few weeks, so it’s been fun trying to come up with creative ways to use them. I mean there’s always things like mixed berry cobbler (and that’s a GREAT recipe for it), blueberry cheesecake bars, and of course putting them on a summer charcuterie board. But I wanted something different, something that most people probably haven’t seen before. And these fun strawberry cheesecake cones are just that. The combination of the lemon, strawberry, and cheesecake filling, and crunchy waffle cone is just so yummy! It’s a great alternative to serving a frozen treat like ice cream or popsicles when you don’t want to worry about things melting or having to keep things chilled.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Simple ingredients – everything in this recipe can easily be found in your local grocery store, plus it’s all inexpensive, especially if you make this during peak berry season!Gourmet looking – while these are easy to make, these look gourmet because of the beautiful colors and presentation. Only you have to know how easy they are! No bake cheesecake option – if you want to serve something similar to cheesecake but don’t want to bake, these are a great alternative!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Cream cheese – I always recommend using full-fat cream cheese for the richest flavor! Also, make sure that you let the cream cheese come to room temperature so the softened cream cheese will mix smoothly! Lemon pudding – make sure that you’re getting instant lemon pudding and not the stuff (if it even exists) that has to set for hours! You want to be able to make these quickly without waiting for lemon pudding to chill. Milk – I always recommend using whole milk in desserts again to get the creamiest flavor possible. Strawberries – use fresh strawberries for these. If you don’t have fresh strawberries, wait until you can get some! You’ll want to chop the strawberries into small pieces so that the chopped strawberries fit well on top of the cones.
How to make strawberry cheesecake cones
These cheesecake cones are a current trend because they’re so easy to make, pretty, and easy to eat! It’s literally just making the cream cheese mixture, filling the cones, and topping with fresh fruit or any other toppings you’d like! The first thing you need to do is combine the cream cheese with 4 tablespoons sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until the cream cheese filling is light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pudding mix and milk. You can do this by hand or with a hand mixer. Let it thicken in the refrigerator in an airtight container (or at least covered) for five minutes. After the pudding is thickened, add it to the cream cheese and whip together until well incorporated. Next, combine the strawberries with 1 tablespoon of sugar in a large bowl and set aside. Transfer the cheesecake mixture into a piping bag, zipper top bag, or pastry bag with the corner snipped off. I like to use this viral TikTok hack to fill the bag with the cheesecake batter! Using the piping bag with a tip helps you pipe the mixture inside the cone (instead of trying to spoon it down into the bottom of the cone). Pipe mixture evenly into the waffle cones making sure to fill the entire cone. It doesn’t really have to be pretty until the top part but that’s even going to be covered with strawberries so just pipe away. Top with the strawberries and a slice of lemon then chill for 1 hour before serving. I like to either lay the cheesecake cones down on a cookie sheet with each cone slightly elevated with a little crumbled up parchment paper or you can get an ice cream cone or cake pop holder like this one. Or you could always just use a glass for each one like you see in my pictures. These cheesecake waffle cones are such a fun alternative to ice cream because they’re still a handheld dessert but you don’t have to worry about them melting! They’re creamy, crunchy, and absolutely delicious.
Expert Tips
Make mini cheesecake cones by cutting the bottom half of the ice cream cones and just filling the bottoms. Use the tops of the waffles cones as dippers in this delicious cannoli dip! Mix it up! Instead of adding strawberries on top, try it out with something else that would go well with the lemon cheesecake flavor like cookie crumbs from golden Oreos (aka vanilla Oreo), sliced almonds for almond cheesecake cones, melted chocolate (white!) or anything you can think of! Chill the cones until you’re ready to serve and then chill again back in the refrigerator if there are any leftovers! These are best eaten within three days if kept chilled but ideally they’d be eaten on the first day so the waffle cones don’t start to get soggy.
More Easy Creamy Desserts
If you like creamy desserts like these strawberry cheesecake cones, you should also try out these other delicious dessert ideas!
Mini fruit tart recipe – these simple fruit tarts start with a sugar cookie cup that gets topped with a creamy cheesecake filling and fresh fruit!Chocolate chip cheese ball – a delicious twist on a dessert dip and a cheeseball mixed together!Strawberry cheesecake bars – layers of creamy cheesecake filling, fresh strawberries, and a crumble topping all together in one decadent bar!Sopapilla cheesecake – all the flavors of sopapillas and cheesecake mixed together in simple bars! Striped delight – the ultimate creamy dessert full of chocolate, cream cheese, and whipped cream layers!
