This light and creamy strawberry mousse is one of the best things to arrive at your spring or summer dessert table! Made with fresh strawberries and topped with a delightful vanilla chantilly cream, this easy strawberry mousse recipe has just the right sweetness and fruity flavor for a mid-day snack or post-dinner dessert. Serve it with a bowl of ice cream or chocolate covered strawberries for the ultimate treat!
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📖 What are the different types of mousse?
Mousse is light and airy and can come in sweet, fruity, and savory flavors. Some of the more popular flavors include vanilla, white chocolate, dark chocolate mousse, and fruity flavors such as mango, strawberry, raspberry, and lemon. You may also encounter other delicious flavors or combinations, such as coffee, caramel, peanut butter, key lime, or even wine mousse!
While there is no right or wrong way to make a mousse, several methods exist. Some are made with heavy cream and gelatin, some with cream only, and some with yogurt, cream, and gelatin. Others use egg whites, egg yolks, heavy cream, and a base flavor.
🌟 Why this is the best recipe
- It is effortless to make - This fresh strawberry mousse recipe requires minimal effort and only 15 minutes to prepare. You likely already have all of the equipment you need at home in your kitchen – no fancy tools required!
- It does not require many ingredients - This strawberry mousse recipe requires just a few simple ingredients, all of which you can find in your kitchen or local grocery store.
- It is delicious - I use only the freshest, highest-quality ingredients and just the right amount of sweetness. You will love just how light yet flavorful these mousse cups are!
- It is versatile - You can easily customize this recipe with different flavors and toppings. See the Flavor Variations and Substitutions section for a few examples!
- It is beautiful - These easy strawberry mousse cups are gorgeous in color and design. They are perfect for both casual and elegant occasions!
📝 Ingredient notes
For the Strawberry Mousse:
Strawberries - I prefer fresh strawberries for the puree; however, you can also use frozen strawberries. If using frozen, puree them and then cook them for a few minutes until the mixture slightly thickens and some water evaporates. This is called strawberry reduction, which intensifies the strawberry mousse's taste and color.
Powdered Sugar - Depending on the sweetness of the strawberries, you may need to use more or less powdered sugar. Make sure to sift it. See my sugar guide to learn more about the different types of sugar and how to use them in baking.
Lemon Juice - Lemon juice helps balance the flavors and stabilize the mousse. It is an essential ingredient, so don't skip it! I prefer lemon juice, but you may choose to opt for one of these lemon juice substitutes.
Gelatin - Gelatin thickens the mousse. I make my strawberry mousse with gelatin powder, but you can also use sheets or one of these gelatin substitutes.
Heavy Cream - Heavy cream (also known as heavy whipping cream) gives the mousse its smooth and creamy texture. It needs to be very cold and have at least 36% fat. See my guide on heavy cream substitutes. However, for the best mousse texture you want to avoid using substitutes.
For the decoration:
Strawberries - Fresh, sliced strawberries work best.
Fresh Herbs - Fresh basil pairs wonderfully with strawberries, but you can also try fresh mint, tarragon, rosemary, or lavender!
Chantilly Cream - My airy, vanilla-flavored chantilly cream adds a delicious finishing touch to the mousse.
🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.
👩🍳 How to make Strawberry Mousse
Making Strawberry Mousse:
- Start by rinsing the strawberries until clean. Then, use a blender or food processor to make a puree. Afterward, measure the puree to ensure you have the accurate weight.
- Mix the freshly squeezed lemon juice and the sifted powdered sugar with the puree. Once thoroughly mixed, taste and add more sugar if necessary.
- Next, bloom the gelatin powder by sprinkling the powder over two tablespoons of cold water. Let it sit for approximately three minutes until the texture becomes thick and jiggly.
- Heat the mixture in the microwave until hot (but not boiling). Add it to the strawberry mixture once it turns into a liquid and is no longer hot. The mixture should be neither hot nor cold when you add the gelatin.
- Using an electric hand mixer, immediately whip up the cold heavy cream until it reaches early stiff peaks. Avoid overwhipping, as the cream can either become too hard or break and curdle.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold the whipped heavy cream into the strawberry mixture gently.
- With the help of a spoon or piping bag, arrange the strawberry cream mixture evenly into four cups. Refrigerate the cups for six hours to set.
- For the decoration, prepare an easy whipped cream frosting as per the instructions in my chantilly cream recipe.
- Top the prepared strawberry mousse with a dollop of chantilly cream, fresh strawberry slices, and a sprig of the herb of your choice.
💡 Top Tip: Always use the equipment listed in the instructions for the best results. You should use an electric hand mixer to whip the heavy cream; however, only use a rubber spatula when folding the strawberry mixture into the heavy cream so the heavy cream will stay nice and airy giving the mousse its signature texture.
❄️ Storage and Freezing
To store, cover the mousse tightly with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Although some recipes say you can freeze mousse, I do not recommend it as it will change its texture once thawed.
📚 Flavor variations
With different fruits - Instead of strawberries, you can use other fresh fruits, such as mangoes, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, or cherries. You can also try a combination of the above for a fruity strawberry mousse mix. See my mango mousse and raspberry mousse recipes for inspiration!
With a compote layer - To kick up the fresh strawberry flavor, you can add a layer of my strawberry compote to the bottom or the top of the mousse.
With different toppings - Swap out the sliced strawberries for fruity toppings such as blueberries or raspberries. You can also sprinkle chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or shaved coconut to add texture or drizzle on some chocolate or honey for extra sweetness.
With added flavors - You can enhance the flavor even more by adding a few drops of vanilla or lemon extract to the puree or blending in fresh basil to make a strawberry basil mousse.
With chocolate - Love chocolate? Split each cup with a layer of chocolate mousse from my easy chocolate mousse recipe, or add the strawberry mousse between chocolate cake layers to make a delicious strawberry chocolate mousse cake!
You can also use this recipe to make a strawberry mousse cake (as I do in my mango mousse cake recipe)!
🎓 Expert tips
- If the strawberries are sweet enough, you can omit the sugar to make a sugar-free mousse!
- Do not attempt to speed up the process by skipping or shortening waiting time. A thick, creamy mousse requires at least six hours of setting time.
- If adding a compote layer to the top, you must first wait until the mousse has fully set.
- To keep your strawberry mousse fresh, always refrigerate and serve cold.
🥣 Equipment Notes
A digital scale is a must-have piece of baking equipment. It allows you to measure by weight versus volume, giving you the most accurate and consistent results.
I recommend using an electric hand mixer to whip the heavy cream, which takes the effort out of doing so by hand.
A rubber spatula is necessary to fold ingredients together without overmixing and breaking the cream.
❓Recipe FAQs
It is likely because you 1. Did not let it set long enough. 2. Broke the texture of the whipped cream by not folding it carefully with the fruit mixture. If, after 6 hours, the mousse is still runny, you can start the process all over again and try to save it. To make it thicker, you can add more gelatin the same way as you added it the first time.
Yes. However, the texture will be more creamy rather than airy. You can try one of these substitutes if you do not have or cannot use gelatin.
This recipe makes approximately 3-4 2.5dl portions, which is 8.5oz, equivalent to approximately 3-4 cups.
🍓 More Strawberry Desserts
✨ More Mousse Desserts
Strawberry Mousse
Equipment
Ingredients
Strawberry Mousse
- 450 g (2 cups) Strawberry puree Puree the fresh strawberries and measure it after. If frozen fruit is used, let it come to room temperature, puree it, then reduce the puree by cooking over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the mixture slightly thickens and some water evaporates. Measure it after the reduction process.
- 60 g (½ cups) Powdered sugar More or less depends on the sweetness of the strawberries, use it sifted.
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 6 g (2 teaspoons) Gelatin powder
- 345 g (1½ cups) Heavy Cream 36% fat, use it very cold
Decoration
- Strawberries fresh
- Herbs eg. mint
- Chantilly cream Use my chantilly cream recipe
US customary cup measurement is an indicative figure only. Measure the ingredients with a digital scale by weight (gram). Baking is art but also science which requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
Strawberry Mousse
- Clean the strawberries and with the help of a blender make the strawberry puree, then measure it.
- Mix the freshly squeezed lemon juice and the sifted powdered sugar into the fruit puree. Taste it and adjust the sweetness to your liking.
- To bloom the gelatin powder, sprinkle the powder over 2 tablespoons of cold water and allow it to sit for 3 minutes until it becomes thick and jiggly. Then, gently heat the mixture in the microwave. Make sure that you do not boil the gelatin at this point, only heat it up. Once the gelatin mixture is liquid but not hot, mix it into the fruit puree. Make sure that the fruit puree is neither cold nor hot when mixing the gelatin in.
- Then, immediately, with the help of an electric hand mixer, start to whip up the cold heavy cream until early stiff peaks. Do not overwhip it as the cream can become too hard to be able to fold with the fruit puree or might even break and curdle and become butter.
- Gently fold the whipped heavy cream into the fruit mixture with the help of a rubber spatula.
- Then, arrange the strawberry mousse into 4 cups. Use a spoon or piping bag. Refrigerate for 6 hours to set.
Decoration
- Prepare some whipped chantilly and use fresh strawberries and herbs to decorate the mousse.
- Store the mousse refrigerated for up to 2 days. Do not freeze it.
Notes
- Do not skip the lemon juice, it will bring out the flavor of the strawberries.
- Adjust the sweetness by adding more or less sugar.
- Feel free to use frozen strawberries. However, reduce its water content by cooking the puree for about 10 minutes. Measure it after.
- Use min 36% fat content heavy cream and very cold to be able to whip it up correctly
- Important not to overwhip the cream. Whip it just until early stiff peaks. That is the precise consistency we need to be able to fold it into the fruit puree. If it is too soft (soft peak), the mousse might not set properly. If too hard, the whipped cream won't be smooth enough to fold with the fruit puree. If overwhipped, the cream will curdle and become butter.
- Do not skip the waiting time.
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