Strawberry Mousse Domes with Pastry Cream Insert

These strawberry mousse domes make perfect entremets to serve when you want something elegant and delicious. This simple and easy recipe makes a fresh, light and luscious strawberry mousse with a pastry cream insert, served on a hazelnut crust, topped with a dash of strawberry coulis. A great dessert to show off your dessert skills.

What do you do when you want to show off your dessert skills. You take something as simple as a strawberry mousse and pastry cream, then complicate it with a few more additions!! I'm not joking!

So, if you love desserts you will love these mousse domes. They are really simple and easy to make. The only problem is that it involves a bit of planning ahead of time.

About this recipe

Today, I am keeping this recipe simple and easy. There are three components to this recipe

• The base - this is similar to making a cookie. We use ground hazelnuts but any ground nuts will work. You can make these bases up to a week in advance.
• The insert - to keep things simple I am using my eggless pastry cream and I would recommend that you this as well because the classic pastry cream made with egg yolks don't freeze well. These can be made up to 3 days ahead of time.
• The mousse - again very simple and easy. This recipe used agar-agar because it's a vegetarian substitute for gelatin. And yet, feel free to use regular gelatin instead. You want to make this just before you are ready to assemble.
• The coulis - this is like a syrup that can be used as I have or as a glaze. It can be made up to 4 days ahead and kept in the fridge.

Timeline for making these entremets

• Hazelnut base - 30 mins
• Pastry cream insert - 30 mins + 3 hours freezing
• Strawberry mousse - 30 minutes + 3 hours freezing
• Coulis - 10 minutes
• Assemble - 20 minutes

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Ingredients and substitutes

•  Hazelnut meal - A nut meal is basically just ground nuts. These are available commercially but can be easily made at home in a food processor. I am using hazelnuts here, and yet you could substitute with any other nuts that you love and will pair well with strawberry.
  Tip - If you make a nut meal at home in a food processor, add a little of the sugar or flour from the recipe to keep it dry, so the oils that are released from the nuts will not make a paste instead of a meal.
• Brown sugar - I love the combination of brown sugar with hazelnuts. And yet, you can use the same quantity of white sugar just as well.
• Cornstarch - For eggless pastry cream we use cornstarch or custard powder instead of egg yolks. The advantage of custard powder is that it has an egg yellow color similar to egg yolks. Today, I am using custard powder.
• Strawberries - These are in season at the moment, so I have used fresh here, but frozen works just as well. Having said that, the strawberries can also be substituted with other berries such as raspberries or blackberries.

Step by step instructions

Hazelnut Cookie Crust

• In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  Tip - do not cream too long as we do not want to add too much air into the mixture.
• Add vanilla extract, followed by the hazelnut meal and flour - combine well. If the mixture is too crumbly, add a tablespoon of milk just enough to make a ball.
  Tip - do not add too much milk as we want a nice crumbly texture for the base.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and let chill for at least 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll.
• Preheat oven at 350 °F / 180 °C / Gas Mark 4
• Roll the dough into a ¼ inch thick sheet on a lightly floured surface. Using a cookie cutter the same size as your mold cut the base for the domes.
  Tip - I prefer to make the base the same size as the domes. That's because we are not using any glaze. You can make the base smaller as well.
• Place on a parchment-lined baking tray. Bake in a preheated oven for 8 to 10 mins until lightly golden. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  Tip - these can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

Vanilla Pastry Cream domes

• You can watch a video - how I make this vanilla pastry cream
• in a heavy saucepan, combine cold milk, sugar, and cornstarch or custard powder. Cook on medium heat until the milk comes to almost boil.
• Lower the heat to low and continue to stir until the mixture gets thick and cooks the back of a wooden spoon.
  Tip - we reduce the heat so the milk does not burn, if you have any scorched milk at the bottom do not scrape it.
• Add the vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and remove from heat.
• Use a small 1 ½ inch semicircle silicone dome. While still warm pour the pastry cream into the domes silicon molds. Smooth the top, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the freezer for at least 3 hours or until firm
  Tip - you will have excess pastry cream which can be enjoyed as a dessert on its own. While the recipe can be adjusted it is easier to work with these quantities.

For the Strawberry Mousse

• You can watch a video - how I make this strawberry mousse. Prepare the strawberry mousse only after the pastry cream domes are frozen.
• Combine the agar-agar with 4 tablespoon of water. Let soak for 3 minutes then heat in the microwave for 30 to 40 seconds until completely dissolved. Let cool slightly
• Blend the strawberries in a food processor until smooth. Strain through a sieve or mesh. Then add the sugar and combine well.
• Add the melted agar-agar to the strawberry puree. The best way to do this is to add a few tablespoons of strawberry puree to the agar-agar. Then combine the two.
  Tip - adding a little strawberry puree to the agar-agar first will temper and prevent the agar-agar from becoming lumpy.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment - whip the cream with powdered sugar until stiff peaks.
• Then gently combine the whipped cream and strawberry mixture. This is your strawberry mousse ready
• Use a large 3-inch dome silicon mold. Fill it halfway with mousse, then insert the frozen pastry cream dome we created earlier.
• Shake the pan to remove air pockets and use a finger to let the dome sink in slightly
  Tip - we want the insert in the center not to the top or the bottom so press down but not too much either.
• Top with more strawberry mousse. Use a spatula to level the top and scrape any excess.
• Place in the freezer for about 2 to 3 hours or until firm
  Tip - we are not going to glaze these but we still need to freeze them or they will not come out of the mold in one piece.

For the Coulis

• Blend the strawberries in a food processor until smooth.
  Tip - you can blend the strawberries for the mousse and coulis at the same time. Just remember to separate them appropriately.
• In a saucepan, add water, cornstarch, sugar, and strawberry puree. Cook on low until the mixture is thick and translucent.
  Tip - we want this to be pouring consistency, so do not make it too thick. If necessary add a few tablespoons of water.
• Strain thru a sieve once again and let cool to room temperature.
  Tip - straining it again will give a smooth glossy coulis

Assemble

• When the strawberry mousse domes are firm, invert the silicone molds and remove them from the mold.
• Place each dome on the prepared hazelnut cookie crust.
• Top with a teaspoon of thick strawberry coulis if you have used a dome with a hollowed center. Garnish with a mint leaf, strawberry slice. I use sugar flowers.
  Tip - Alternatively you can glaze the dome with thick pouring consistency strawberry coulis before you place it on the cookie crust.
• Let thaw in the fridge for an hour before you serve so the mousse is soft not frozen.
• Enjoy!

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