Strawberry Mascarpone Mousse
Creamy mascarpone? Sweet strawberries that taste like summer? Layers that look all fancy but don’t take forever to make? That’s this Strawberry Mascarpone Mousse.
If you want to spend hours making some fancy French dessert from scratch, there are probably other recipe blogs for that.
But this recipe? It’s more like I-have-some-mascarpone-and-strawberries-let’s-make-something-pretty practical. Takes a bit of time to chill but the actual making part is pretty easy.
Kind of elegant (hello, mousse in a glass!) but also simple enough that I don’t stress about it. Perfect for Valentine’s Day or really just whenever you want dessert that looks impressive. The strawberries make it taste fresh and the mascarpone makes it taste rich and together they’re really good.
Ingredients
- 1 lb frozen or fresh strawberries
- 1 ¾ cups mascarpone
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon gelatin plus ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Fresh strawberries for serving (optional)
- White chocolate drops for serving (optional)
How to do it
Step 1: Get the gelatin ready
Put 1 tablespoon gelatin in a small bowl. Add ½ cup water to it. Wait 5 minutes and it gets kind of spongy looking. That’s what you want! Now put that bowl in another container that has hot water in it. Stir it until everything melts together. Let it cool down before you use it later.
Step 2: Cook the strawberries
Take your strawberries and put them in a small pan. Add 3 tablespoons sugar too. Turn the heat to medium and cook them. They get soft and the sugar melts which takes maybe 10 or 15 minutes, something like that. It should get a bit thick. Take it off the stove now. Let it cool all the way down or it will make the mascarpone weird later!
Step 3: Make the mascarpone cream
Get a big bowl out. Put in 1 ¾ cups mascarpone, 1/3 cup heavy cream, ½ cup powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix it all up until it looks smooth. Don’t mix too much though. It can get lumpy if you do.
Step 4: Blend half the strawberries
Your strawberries should be cold now. Blend half of them in a blender until smooth. Save the other half because those whole pieces are good for layering.
Step 5: Mix everything together
Now fold the smooth strawberry stuff into your mascarpone cream. I use a spatula for this part. Be gentle so you don’t squish out all the air. Put it in the fridge for 20 minutes so it gets a little firmer.
Step 6: Add the gelatin
Right before you put everything in glasses, mix that gelatin you made earlier into the smooth strawberry mix. This makes it set up nice in the fridge.
Step 7: Layer it all up
Time to make it pretty! Get some glasses. Put mascarpone cream in each glass first. Then add those whole strawberries you kept. Fill almost to the top!
Spoon like 3 or 4 tablespoons of the strawberry gelatin mix on top. You can add fresh strawberries and white chocolate on top if you want it fancy.
Step 8: Chill and enjoy
Stick the mousse in the fridge. It needs 2 or 3 hours to set right. I know waiting is annoying but you have to! Serve it cold and everyone will love it.
Strawberry Mascarpone Mousse
Ingredients
- 1 lbs frozen or fresh strawberries
- 1 ¾ cups mascarpone
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon gelatin plus ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Fresh strawberries for serving optional
- White chocolate drops for serving optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of gelatin with ½ cup of water and let it sit for 5 minutes until it forms a sponge-like texture.
- Place the bowl with the gelatin in a heatproof container filled with hot water. Stir until the gelatin dissolves completely. Set it aside to cool slightly before adding it to the mousse mixture.
- In a small saucepan, combine 1 lb of strawberries and 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar.
- Heat over medium heat until the strawberries soften and the sugar dissolves, allowing the mixture to thicken slightly, about 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let it cool completely.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ¾ cups of mascarpone, 1/3 cup of heavy cream, ½ cup of powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
- Beat the mixture until smooth and well-combined.
- Once the strawberry mixture has cooled, blend half of it in a blender until smooth. Reserve the other half with whole strawberry pieces.
- Gently fold the blended strawberry mixture into the mascarpone cream.
- Place the combined mixture in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to firm up slightly.
- Just before assembling the mousse, mix the dissolved gelatin into the blended strawberry mixture.
- In serving glasses, layer the mascarpone cream with whole strawberries, filling each glass almost completely.
- Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of the strawberry-gelatin mixture on top of the mascarpone cream.
- Garnish with fresh strawberries and white chocolate drops, if desired.
- Place the assembled mousse in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to set. Serve chilled and enjoy!
