Dubai Chocolate Strawberry Cups (Print Version)

Creamy chocolate and strawberry cups layered with biscuit base and smooth creamy filling.

# What You Need:

→ Base

01 - 5.3 ounces chocolate digestive biscuits or chocolate graham crackers, crushed
02 - 1.8 ounces unsalted butter, melted

→ Cheesecake Filling

03 - 8.8 ounces cream cheese, softened
04 - 2.8 ounces powdered sugar
05 - 6.8 fluid ounces heavy cream, cold
06 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ Strawberry Layer

07 - 7 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
08 - 1 tablespoon sugar, optional for macerating

→ Chocolate Ganache

09 - 2.8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
10 - 2.7 fluid ounces heavy cream

→ Garnish

11 - 6 whole strawberries
12 - Dark chocolate shavings, optional
13 - Crushed pistachios, optional

# How-To Steps:

01 - In a mixing bowl, combine crushed chocolate biscuits with melted butter until evenly moistened. Divide mixture equally among six serving cups, pressing gently to create a compact base layer.
02 - Beat softened cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and lump-free. In a separate bowl, whip cold heavy cream with vanilla extract to soft peaks. Gently fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until fully incorporated and creamy.
03 - Spoon or pipe cheesecake filling evenly over biscuit bases in each cup, smoothing the top surface.
04 - Toss sliced strawberries with sugar if desired and let rest for 10 minutes to release juices. Distribute macerated strawberries evenly over cheesecake layer in each cup.
05 - Heat heavy cream until just simmering. Pour over chopped dark chocolate and allow to sit for 1 minute undisturbed. Stir until smooth and glossy. Cool slightly, then spoon thin layer over strawberries in each cup.
06 - Refrigerate filled cups for minimum 2 hours until ganache and filling are fully set.
07 - Before serving, top each cup with a whole strawberry, dark chocolate shavings, and crushed pistachios as desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • No oven required—these come together in about 20 minutes of actual work time, making them perfect for impressing people without the stress.
  • They sit in your fridge doing their thing for two hours, which means you can prep and then forget about them until guests arrive.
  • Each component tastes like it took hours, but the creamy filling, crumbly base, and silky ganache are genuinely foolproof once you understand the technique.
02 -
  • If your cream cheese isn't soft when you start, your entire filling will be lumpy and grainy no matter how long you beat it—trust me, I learned this the frustrating way by trying to save time, and it doesn't work.
  • Folding the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture is where people ruin it; do it gently with a spatula, turning the bowl as you go, because overmixing deflates all your work and makes the filling dense instead of airy.
  • The ganache will thicken as it cools, so if you wait too long and it becomes too thick to spoon smoothly, just give it a gentle stir and let it sit for another minute or two rather than trying to reheat it.
03 -
  • Use a pastry bag to pipe the cheesecake filling instead of spooning it, which gives you more control and makes the cups look intentional and polished without requiring any special skill.
  • Ensure all your ingredients are truly cold before you start the filling; this includes the mixing bowl itself, which you can chill in the freezer for five minutes before using.
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