Fresh Strawberry Mousse
A light tasting mousse with fresh strawberries adapted loosely from a very old issue of Cook's Illustrated.
Servings 6 people
Cost 5
Equipment
- 1 fine mesh strainer or sieve
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh strawberries
- ½ cup granulated sugar, divided use
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces mascarpone cheese or softened cream cheese (If using cream cheese, cut into chunks).
- 1 ¾ teaspoon plain gelatin
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream, cold
Instructions
- Set aside about 4 ounces of the strawberries which you'll use later for garnishing. Hull the remaining strawberries and roughly chop by pulsing in the food processor. You will puree them later, so for this step you just need to pulse to chop.
- Put the chopped strawberries, ¼ cup of sugar and a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl. Toss strawberries in the sugar and let stand for about 45 minutes to render some juice.
- Strain the strawberries through a fine mesh strainer set over a small saucepan. You should get about ⅔ cup juice. Dump the drained strawberries back in the food processor bowl and let them sit for a few minutes while you tend to the juice in that saucepan.
- Take 3 tablespoons of the cold strawberry juice out of the saucepan and put it in a ramekin.Sprinkle gelatin on top to soften. Heat the juice that's left in the saucepan over medium for about 8 minutes or until it is reduced to about half or a thick syrup. Keep a close eye on it because it may not take that long. Remove from heat and whisk in the softened gelatin until dissolved, then whisk in the cheese. Set aside to cool.
- Now process the strawberries into a puree and strain the puree into the mixing bowl you originally used for macerating. Pour in the mascarpone mixture.
- In another bowl, with a handheld electric mixer, beat the heavy whipping cream until foamy. Gradually add remaining ¼ cup of sugar and beat until stiff peaks just start to form.
- Fold the sweetened whipped cream into the strawberry mixture.
- Portion between 6 small glasses and set on a tray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 4 to up to 48 hours. To serve, chop up reserved strawberries and garnish with chopped strawberries. In addition, you might want to whip and sweeten some extra cream or just use cream from a can.
