Strawberries With Lemon Cream

I love making pretty food, of course I want it to taste good too. This past Saturday I co-hosted a brunch for a bridal shower, I made these strawberries with lemon cream to serve to the guests. Since June is Dairy Month (and we were dairy farmers for more than twenty years) I thought I should share the recipe. I wish I could have used some of our fabulous local berries but they're not quite ready for harvest.
This recipe was clipped out of a magazine more than twenty years ago, it's been in my recipe binder all these years...unfortunately I don't have the foggiest idea which magazine it came from.

Strawberries With Lemon Cream

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel (I use a Microplane grater)
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 containers (1-pint size) strawberries

1. In bowl, with electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, lemon peel and juice til smooth. Cover; refrigerate. Filling can be made ahead and kept refigerated.
2. Remove hulls from berries; place on paper-towel-lined tray, hulled end down. With sharp knife, cut an X through the top of each berry (don't cut all the way through). Pull sections apart slightly.
3. Spoon filling into a pastry bag fitted with 1/2 inch star tip. Pipe a heaping teaspoon in center of each berry. (Berries may be filled 2 hours before serving.)
To serve: Place in paper petit-four cups.
Makes approx 3 dozen.

notes: I use my "Super Shooter" electric gadget to pipe the cream into the berries. I also make sure the cream is chilled before I pipe it into the berries, if it's room temp it's too soft and the piping doesn't look as pretty.

I'm hoping to post some more dairy/berry recipes this month. My friend Tami made a Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake for the bridal shower...it was absolutely fabulous. Pop on over to her blog if you're interested in the recipe, she kindly blogged it for us.