Strawberries Filled with Almond Cream

25 jumbo strawberries

3/4 c heavy whipping cream

3/4 c milk

1 small box vanilla instant pudding

1/2 tsp almond extract

Wash and dry berries.  Slice off stem end.  Using a sharp paring knife, slice an “x” deep into berries without cutting all the way down.  Beat heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.  In a separate bowl, combine milk and pudding.  Beat for 2 minutes.  Add almond extract and whipped cream.  Fit a pastry bag with a #10 or #12 round tip (depending on the size of berries).  Fill pastry bag with pudding mixture.  Pipe pudding into strawberries, spreading petals open with fingers to allow more cream to fit.

A word to the lazy:  an alternate way of serving this would be to quarter or slice the strawberries and serve the filling in a small dish.  The filling can be spooned over the cut strawberries.  Slicing the strawberries and using them as scoops for the filling works well too.