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Strawberry Mousse with Frozen Strawberries

By Sarah Mullins

Published on March 18, 2014

Time

50 minutes, plus 4 hours chilling

Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Strawberry Mousse with Frozen Strawberries

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds (680 grams/5 ¼ cups) frozen strawberries, thawed1 ¾ teaspoons unflavored gelatin 4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces and softened½ cup heavy cream, chilled½ cup (3 ½ ounces/99 grams) sugar Pinch salt

Before You Begin

For more-complex berry flavor, replace the 3 tablespoons of raw strawberry juice in step 1 with strawberry or raspberry liqueur. You can serve the mousse with Lemon Whipped Cream. If you'd like to use fresh strawberries instead of frozen strawberries, please see our recipe for Fresh Strawberry Mousse.

Instructions

  1. Strain strawberries through fine-mesh strainer into bowl (you should have about 2/3 cup juice). Measure out 3 tablespoons juice into small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over juice, and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Place remaining juice in small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to 3 tablespoons, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat, add softened gelatin mixture, and stir until gelatin has dissolved. Add cream cheese and whisk until smooth. Transfer mixture to large bowl.
  2. While juice is reducing, process strained strawberries in food processor until smooth, 15 to 20 seconds. Strain puree through fine-mesh strainer into medium bowl, pressing on solids to remove seeds and pulp (you should have about 1 2/3 cups puree). Discard any solids in strainer. Add strawberry puree to juice-gelatin mixture and whisk until incorporated.
  3. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip cream on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar and salt and whip until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk whipped cream into strawberry mixture until no white streaks remain. Portion into dessert dishes and chill for at least 4 hours or up to 48 hours. (If chilled longer than 6 hours, let mousse sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.) Serve.
Strawberry Mousse with Frozen Strawberries

Strawberry Mousse with Frozen Strawberries

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Time

50 minutes, plus 4 hours chilling

Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds (680 grams/5 ¼ cups) frozen strawberries, thawed
1 ¾ teaspoons unflavored gelatin
4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces and softened
½ cup heavy cream, chilled
½ cup (3 ½ ounces/99 grams) sugar
Pinch salt

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds (680 grams/5 ¼ cups) frozen strawberries, thawed
1 ¾ teaspoons unflavored gelatin
4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces and softened
½ cup heavy cream, chilled
½ cup (3 ½ ounces/99 grams) sugar
Pinch salt

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds (680 grams/5 ¼ cups) frozen strawberries, thawed
1 ¾ teaspoons unflavored gelatin
4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces and softened
½ cup heavy cream, chilled
½ cup (3 ½ ounces/99 grams) sugar
Pinch salt

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

There’s a good reason that strawberry mousse recipes aren’t very prevalent: The berries contain lots of juice, which can ruin the texture of a mousse that should be creamy and rich. Plus, the fruit flavor produced by most strawberry mousse recipes is too subtle. We start by reducing the juice from the berries to a syrup before mixing it with gelatin and adding it to the mousse—a technique that stabilizes the dessert and not only limits the amount of moisture but also concentrates the berry flavor. Then we fully puree the juiced berries, which contribute bright, berry flavor. Finally, we choose additional stabilizers carefully: whipped cream for richness, and cream cheese, an unusual addition, for richer, creamier body.

Before You Begin

For more-complex berry flavor, replace the 3 tablespoons of raw strawberry juice in step 1 with strawberry or raspberry liqueur. You can serve the mousse with Lemon Whipped Cream. If you'd like to use fresh strawberries instead of frozen strawberries, please see our recipe for Fresh Strawberry Mousse.

Instructions

  1. Strain strawberries through fine-mesh strainer into bowl (you should have about 2/3 cup juice). Measure out 3 tablespoons juice into small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over juice, and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Place remaining juice in small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to 3 tablespoons, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat, add softened gelatin mixture, and stir until gelatin has dissolved. Add cream cheese and whisk until smooth. Transfer mixture to large bowl.
  2. While juice is reducing, process strained strawberries in food processor until smooth, 15 to 20 seconds. Strain puree through fine-mesh strainer into medium bowl, pressing on solids to remove seeds and pulp (you should have about 1 2/3 cups puree). Discard any solids in strainer. Add strawberry puree to juice-gelatin mixture and whisk until incorporated.
  3. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip cream on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar and salt and whip until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk whipped cream into strawberry mixture until no white streaks remain. Portion into dessert dishes and chill for at least 4 hours or up to 48 hours. (If chilled longer than 6 hours, let mousse sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.) Serve.

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