Creamy, light, and airy, this strawberry mousse takes just 10 minutes and tastes like a dream. Made with heavy cream, cream cheese and fresh strawberries, gelatin optional.
The first strawberries of the season are here and it’s made me so ridiculously excited that I’ve spent the last few nights playing with tons of ideas of what I should make instead of actually sleeping. If you have anything in mind, I’d be happy to hear!
Making Strawberry mousse
This mousse reminds me of an extremely airy strawberry milkshake. It has plenty of flavor and is so light you can finish the entire cup in mere seconds.
This is an easy recipe that starts with processing the strawberries and sugar, and then mixing in the cream cheese, vanilla extract, and liquor (if using). Cream cheese isn’t an ingredient you’ll find in a classic strawberry mousse recipe, but I use it because it adds a wonderfully creamy texture and helps in stabilizing the dessert. Then you’ll need to whip the cream to stiff peaks, add in the strawberry mixture, and whisk just until blended. Avoid overbeating, which can ruin the texture and make the mousse grainy.
Gelatin: optional
If you want to further stabilize the mousse, you can use gelatin. It’s not necessary, and often times I skip it, but it does give the mousse better structure.
To add gelatin, here’s what you should do: sprinkle ¾ teaspoon gelatin over 1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream, and let it sit for several minutes to dissolve. Gently heat the gelatin mixture in the microwave, just until melted and liquid. Heating the mixture too much will cause it to smell bad, so don’t microwave for more than a few seconds. Stir the gelatin mixture into the strawberry-cream cheese mixture before adding the whipped cream.
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Helpful Tips
- Use cold heavy cream straight from the fridge as it’s necessary for it to whip up properly.
- You can use ½ cup powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar, which would help in stabilizing the mousse. Add 6 tablespoons when processing the strawberries and 2 tablespoons when whipping the cream.
- You can add a bit of lemon juice and zest along with the cream cheese for extra flavor.
If you love strawberries, you may also like
Strawberry white chocolate smoothie – my favorite drink in the world!
Strawberry cream cake – impressive but not complicated.
Strawberry shortcake – it’s like a sandwich for strawberries.
Simple strawberry cake – fun to make with kids!
10-Minute Strawberry Mousse
Creamy, light, and airy, this strawberry mousse takes just 10 minutes and tastes like a dream. Made with heavy cream, cream cheese and fresh strawberries, gelatin optional.
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cups (200 g/7 oz) strawberries, hulled
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- ¼ cup (60 ml) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature *see notes
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ tablespoon orange liqueur (optional)
- ¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream, cold
Instructions
-
Place strawberries and 3 tablespoons sugar in a food processor and process until smooth. Add cream cheese, vanilla extract, and liquor, and process for several seconds just until blended.
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Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk heavy cream and 2 tablespoons sugar until stiff peaks start to form. Add strawberry mixture and whisk on low speed just until blended, being careful not to overbeat. The mixture should be soft at this point, with a texture similar to shaving cream, so don’t be tempted to whisk it for a long time. It will firm up more once chilled.
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Evenly spoon or pipe mousse into 3-4 serving dishes. Top with fresh sliced strawberries, fresh mint, grated white chocolate, or chocolate covered strawberries if desired.
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Cover and place in the fridge to firm up for at least 1 hour before serving, or up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
*Mascarpone cheese can be substituted for cream cheese. Cheese doesn’t only add flavor, but also helps to stabilize the mousse. If you prefer leaving it out, increase the amount of heavy cream to ¾ cup instead.
Helpful Tips
-
- Use cold heavy cream straight from the fridge as it’s necessary for it to whip up properly.
-
- You can use ½ cup powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar, which would help in stabilizing the mousse. Add 6 tablespoons when processing the strawberries and 2 tablespoons when whipping the cream.
-
- You can add a bit of lemon juice and zest along with the cream cheese for extra flavor.
- Gelatin: optional
If you want to further stabilize the mousse, you can use gelatin. It’s not necessary, and often times I skip it, but it does give the mousse better structure.
To add gelatin, here’s what you should do: sprinkle ¾ teaspoon gelatin over 1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream, and let it sit for several minutes to dissolve. Gently heat the gelatin mixture in the microwave, just until melted and liquid. Heating the mixture too much will cause it to smell bad, so don’t microwave for more than a few seconds. Stir the gelatin mixture into the strawberry-cream cheese mixture before adding the whipped cream.
Lauren Gaskill | Making Life Sweet says
Wow, Shiran! This looks absolutely delightful. Pinning!
Shiran says
Thanks, Lauren! 🙂
Maggie says
I am a chef at a bed and breakfast and made this with a basil gelee last weekend for breakfast. It was met with rave reviews! Thanks for an awesome success in the kitchen!
Shiran says
I’m so glad to hear it, Maggie! Thank you so much for your sweet comment! 🙂
JR says
-Not for site comments but questions:
Made this the other day and want to remake it but have a few questions:
Needed a bit more berry flavor, how would adding extra berries impact final result? Want to add lemon but how much? Also powdered sugar substitution equals 8 tablespoons but recipe only calls for five-can you please explain. Thanks!
Shiran says
For more berry flavor, you can add extra berries. Start with an additional 1 cup to see if you like the result – both in flavor and texture.
You can definitely add lemon juice or zest according to your taste.
Regarding the sugar, granulated sugar weighs more than the equivalent mass of powdered sugar, so for example, 1 cup powdered sugar weighs 120g while 1 cup granulated sugar weights 200g. Therefore you need to use more powdered sugar (in volume) than granulated sugar.
Angela says
Hi Shiran! I decided to make this for my parents upcoming anniversary and I want to double the given recipe quantities – how do I divide the 10 tablespoons of sugar ?
Catherine says
Hello, I used this recipe for a shower a couple of years ago and it was yummy and pretty in our little dishes.
I remember that it was flat – as shown in the photo above. Is there any way to make it stiffer so that it will pipe in to the dish and retain it’s shape? Is that what you are suggesting the gelatin will help with? I don’t remember if I used the gelatin or not.
Thanks!
Shiran says
Thanks, Catherine! This mousse is pretty soft. You could use less whipped cream, but that would affect the flavor. Gelatin stabilizes the mousse only after refrigeration, so it won’t be stiff at first.