Strawberries and cream is such an elegant dessert that is an ideal choice for a romantic dinner. Right now strawberries are in season in Florida, and I love to take advantage of this time to make good use of these delicious berries.
This dessert is so simple to make, can be done the day before and is a great way to end a special meal. The mousse-like texture melts in your mouth with luscious, velvety creaminess. Not only is this gelatin mousse dessert succulent but it’s also a palate cleanser, with the strawberries adding a bright cheeriness to each luxurious mouthful.
Yields: 1 (13×9 inch) dish
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon gelatin
1/4 cup water
2 pints strawberries
6 Tablespoons sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a small dish, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and allow to stand for at least 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, hull and coarsely chop 1 pint of strawberries. Sprinkle 3 Tablespoons of sugar over the strawberries and allow to stand. The amount of sugar really depends on how sweet your berries are. You may need to add more or less. The berries will macerate – release liquid and soak in it’s own juices, intensifying the flavor.
Pulse a few times on a food processor or mash the berries together finely.
Slice half of the other pint of berries and sprinkle the other 3 Tablespoons of sugar over the berries.
Place the slice berries in a strainer over a bowl or the sink and allow the liquid to drain. We don’t want the berries to exude a lot of liquid into the dessert at this point, so we are getting rid of it.
Whip the cold cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
I always place my bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer before I start preparing the dessert. By the time I am ready to whip the cream, the bowl and the whisk attachment have chilled and the cream whips up much better. When you whip cream, you are whipping air, water and fat. If the fat begins to melt, the whipped cream will collapse, which is why it’s so important to use chilled utensils and very cold cream.
Melt the gelatin in the microwave for about 30 seconds or over a double boiler. Do NOT boil.
Pour the gelatin into the pureed berries and fold carefully into the whipped cream.
Arrange the sliced berries on the bottom of a glass dish or in individual serving containers.
Spoon the strawberry gelatin mixture over the sliced berries, smooth the top and refrigerate until chilled and set.
Garnish with the remaining 1/2 pint of berries.
- 1 Tablespoon gelatin
- ¼ cup water
- 2 pints strawberries
- 6 Tablespoons sugar, divided
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- In a small dish, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and allow to stand for at least 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, hull and coarsely chop 1 pint of strawberries.
- Sprinkle 3 Tablespoons of sugar over the strawberries and allow to stand.The berries will macerate – release liquid and soak in it’s own juices, intensifying the flavor.
- Pulse a few times on a food processor or mash the berries together finely.
- Slice half of the other pint of berries and sprinkle the other 3 Tablespoons of sugar over the berries.
- Place the sliced berries in a strainer over a bowl or the sink and allow the liquid to drain. We don’t want the berries to exude a lot of liquid into the dessert at this point, so we are getting rid of it.
- Whip the cold cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
- Melt the gelatin in the microwave for about 30 seconds or over a double boiler. Do NOT boil.
- Pour the gelatin into the pureed berries and fold carefully into the whipped cream.
- Arrange the sliced berries on the bottom of a glass dish or in individual serving containers.
- Spoon the strawberry gelatin mixture over the sliced berries, smooth the top and refrigerate until chilled and set.
- Garnish with the remaining ½ pint of berries.
This looks wonderful. My sweet tooth is talkin’!! Looking forward to trying this. Thanks Olga!
I combined this with the sponge cake recipes you have posted for cannoli cake to make sort of like a mousse cake. It turned out really good. Very light, fruity and not too sweet. It’s now my favorite sponge cake recipe. Never dry and turned out perfect the two times I made it.
What a great idea! I’ll have to try it myself.
Completly fell in love with this! its SO good. i did it like inna above did i make it as a filling for a sponge cake its absolutly yummy! my new favorite!
I’ll have to make it like this next time too:)
I am so glad I made this dessert last week! It is perfect for hot spring/summer days. My family absolutely enjoyed eating this delicate and rich strawberry mousse after my son’s soccer game. Definitely will be making it again and again all summer long
really good w cake layer
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made it for my daughter’s 5th birthday. It was one of her favorites (she loves pink and strawberries). My whole family was asking for the recipe by the end of the day.
Thank you Lilia! I’m so glad you could all enjoy this for your daughter’s birthday:). This is one of our family favorites too. Strawberries are so yummy, especially with cream.
Is the mousse supposed to be firm when set? When I made this it was creamy and slightly puffy.
Mary, No, it won’t be firm. This is a mousse, not a jello. It will be creamy and fluffy, since it has whipped heavy cream folded in with the strawberries.
Hi Olya, I wonder if I could add jello on top of the mousse? Or is the mousse too soft to handle jello?
Hi Oksana,
Yep, definitely strong enough to put jello on top. Make sure to let the mousse set firmly first and also cool down the jello to room temperature and then in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, before pouring it on top of the mousse. Let me know how it turns out. Great idea!