Thursday, October 2, 2008

strawberry mousse



for one reason or another, i have always avoided making mousse. i don't know whether it was the gelatine aspect, the cream whipping aspect, having to use the blender then having to wash it up, or in this case, the use of fresh, luscious berries in a dessert, when i often wonder why people don't just eat the berries just as they are, rather than fiddle with something so perfect. however, now i know why one would make a strawberry mousse - because it is soooo delicious, and oh so easy, especially the way i do it. and what made me take the plunge? it's strawberry season now and perhaps i couldn't justify not making a mousse anymore.

1 punnet (250 grams) strawberries, washed and hulled
1/2 cup sugar
300 mls cream
2 teaspoons gelatine
1/3 cup boiling water

place the gelatine in a small bowl and pour the boiling water over and stir until the gelatine has completely dissolved. set aside while the straberry mixture is being prepared.

place the strawberries, cream and sugar in the beaker of a 1 litre capacity coffee plunger and use a bamix (or other kitchen wand) to blend the contents together. once smooth, pour in the gelatine liquid and blend again.

pour the resulting mousse mixture into 150ml capacity serving glasses or ramekins. the size of your glasses will determine the number of servings you get; i usually get about 5-6 servings and find that this is ideal - any bigger, and one could experience mousse overload, and any less may not be quite satisfying enough.

refrigerate for a couple of hours, or overnight, if time permits. we tend to go through these mousses very quickly (read they are eaten as soon as they set, if not before), however, i did find one behind some other containers in the fridge which was a couple of days old and still very delicious, so i can say they do keep a couple of days quite happily.

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