Valentines Day Strawberry Mousse (Printable)

Layers of sponge, fresh strawberry mousse, and glaze create a romantic airy dessert.

# What You Need:

→ Sponge Cake

01 - 3 large eggs, room temperature
02 - 1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
03 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
04 - 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
05 - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
06 - Pinch of salt

→ Strawberry Mousse

07 - 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
08 - 1/3 cup granulated sugar
09 - 1 tablespoon lemon juice
10 - 2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
11 - 2 tablespoons cold water
12 - 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold

→ Strawberry Glaze

13 - 1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled
14 - 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
15 - 1 teaspoon lemon juice
16 - 1 teaspoon powdered gelatin
17 - 1 tablespoon cold water

→ Decoration

18 - Fresh strawberries, halved (optional)
19 - White or dark chocolate shavings (optional)
20 - Edible rose petals (optional)

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper.
02 - In a mixing bowl, beat room temperature eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and tripled in volume, approximately 5 minutes. Add vanilla extract. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt, then gently fold into the egg mixture until just combined.
03 - Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the pan.
04 - Purée fresh strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice until completely smooth using a blender or food processor.
05 - Sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let bloom for 5 minutes. Warm one-third of the strawberry purée in a saucepan over low heat without boiling. Remove from heat and dissolve the bloomed gelatin into the warm purée, stirring until fully incorporated. Stir this mixture back into the remaining cold purée and let cool to room temperature.
06 - In a clean bowl, whip heavy whipping cream to soft peaks using an electric mixer. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled strawberry mixture until fully combined.
07 - Remove the cooled sponge cake from the pan. Clean the springform ring and return the cake base to it. Pour the strawberry mousse evenly over the sponge layer and smooth the top with a spatula. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until the mousse is set.
08 - Purée fresh strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice until smooth. Bloom gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes. Heat a few tablespoons of the strawberry purée, dissolve the gelatin into the warm purée, then stir back into the remaining purée. Allow to cool slightly before pouring gently over the set mousse layer.
09 - Refrigerate the assembled cake for an additional hour until the glaze is completely firm.
10 - Decorate the chilled cake with fresh strawberry halves, chocolate shavings, or edible rose petals as desired. Carefully release the cake from the springform pan using the release mechanism and transfer to a serving plate.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It's elegant enough to impress but forgiving enough that small mistakes disappear beneath those gorgeous layers.
  • The mousse is so airy and strawberry-forward that you'll taste the fruit, not just sweetness.
  • It actually improves after a few hours of chilling, so you can make it ahead and breathe easy.
02 -
  • Gelatin is not forgiving—if you don't bloom it in cold water first, you'll taste sandy, grainy bits no matter how much you stir, so take that 5 minutes seriously.
  • The glaze needs to cool to room temperature before you pour it or the heat will melt your carefully set mousse underneath.
  • Fresh strawberries vary wildly in water content, so if your strawberry purée seems very wet, strain it longer or you'll have a mousse that never quite sets.
03 -
  • Measure your strawberries by weight, not volume—volume measurements are deceptively variable and can throw off the ratio of fruit to gelatin.
  • If your mousse or glaze seems too thick before you pour it, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes; if it's too thin, you can gently reheat it and add a tiny pinch more bloomed gelatin dissolved into warm purée.
Return