1teaspoonvanilla pasteor seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
½teaspoonlemon juice
2teaspoonsicing sugar(confectioner's sugar)
3-4 extra strawberriesto decorate, optional
Instructions
Make the mousse:
Chop the white chocolate and put it into a large heatproof mixing bowl.
Heat half of the cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until bubbles begin to form around the edges.
Pour the cream over the chocolate, and leave to melt for a minute or two. Whisk until all of the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and well combined. Whisk in the remaining half of the cream and the vanilla extract.Taste the mixture, and if the white chocolate is too sweet, whisk in a pinch of salt to counter the sweetness, if you wish.
Refrigerate until very well chilled (at least several hours or overnight, and up to two days).If you’re in a hurry you can pop the bowl in the freezer for an hour to speed the cooling process. Just make sure you check and stir it every 10-15 minutes to make sure it doesn’t actually freeze.
If decorating the glasses with strawberry slices, just before whipping the mousse, slice the extra strawberries lengthwise into 1-2mm thin slices.
On the day of serving, whip the mousse mixture with an electric hand mixer just until stiff peaks begin to form. It won’t take very long, be careful not to overwhip it.
Place the whipped mousse mixture into a piping bag fitted with a plain tip (or simply use a spoon to fill the glasses, if you prefer). Pipe or spoon some mousse into the bottom of each glass. Arrange the strawberry slices around the side of the glasses, pressing them against the glass with your finger. Fill the glasses with the remaining mousse. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes, or until ready to serve.
Serve topped with a generous spoonful of the macerated strawberries.
Macerated strawberries
Up to two hours before serving, chop the strawberries into small (1cm-ish) chunks. Place in a bowl with the vanilla paste, lemon juice and icing sugar. Mix well, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve the mousse.The longer the strawberries sit, the more they will soften and release their juices. If you want them to stay firmer, leave them for less time.
Notes
Cream - The cream you need for this recipe is known by different names in different countries. Here in NZ, it’s usually called standard cream or whipping cream, in other countries, it may be known as full cream, heavy cream or heavy whipping cream. Double cream is generally too thick for this recipe it has a higher fat content. Long story short: for best results, choose a pourable cream that is around 35% fat. Make sure that it says on the bottle/carton that it is suitable for whipping.Chocolate - Choose good-quality white chocolate, preferably in a block - only use chocolate chips if they say on the packet that they are suitable for melting. Baking chips will not work in this recipe, as they contain a coating to stop them from melting.The leftover mousse will keep for several days in the refrigerator. The macerated strawberry mixture will keep for a couple of days, but the strawberries will continue to soften so they won't look quite so pretty.