white chocolate strawberry mousse

Several years ago in a restaurant whose name I can’t remember I had a wonderful white chocolate strawberry mousse for dessert.  It was so good that I remember savoring every bite and thinking I’ve got to figure out a way to make this.  I learned how to make an easy eggless chocolate mousse years ago when I was in culinary school and I eventually adapted the recipe to create a version using white chocolate.   I thought the white chocolate version would make a great base for a strawberry version.  This white chocolate strawberry mousse won rave reviews from my husband and was even better than the one that I had in that restaurant so many years ago.  I served it over strawberry shortcake but it’s delicious served on it’s own in a pretty glass garnished with some fresh strawberries.

Use fresh strawberries at the peak of ripeness for best results. 

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh ripe strawberries
3 tablespoons sugar
12 oz good quality white chocolate, chopped (or you can use white chocolate chips)
1 1/4 cup of whipping cream

Directions:

Combine the white chocolate, 2 tbls of the sugar and 1/4 cup of the whipping cream in a saucepan.  Over low heat, cook the mixture (stirring often) until the white chocolate has melted.   White chocolate has a tendency to lump so strain the mixture through a sieve into a mixing bowl and set aside to cool to lukewarm/room temperature stirring occasionally.

Wash and dry the strawberries.  Cut the stems off and put them in a blender with 1 tbls of the sugar to puree them until the mixture is smooth. 

Put the remaining 1 cup of whipping cream in a bowl and whip with a wire whisk attachment until stiff peaks form.  Be careful not to overwhip! 

Fold half the whipped cream into the strawberry/white chocolate mixture until well combined.  Fold the remaining half in, transfer the mixture to a refrigerator safe bowl and chill the mousse until it’s set, about 6 hours or overnight.