The Perfect Valentine’s Day Dessert

Valentine’s Day is coming up and I have come up with a healthier kind of dessert that is sure to impress!

White Chocolate Mousse with Strawberries

Ingredients:

1 bar of white chocolate, broken up into little pieces

2 egg yolks

Sugar, 3 tablespoons for the mousse, then to taste for the strawberries

2 ¼ c of whipping cream

2 tablespoons of confectioner's sugar

2 tsps of vanilla extract

Shaved white, milk, or dark chocolate for garnish

Directions: Start with the mousse. Place your mixing bowl in the fridge. Take ¼ cup of whipping cream and simmer it in a pan over low heat. In one bowl, place your white chocolate pieces, and in the other mix the eggs, sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla together. Once the cream simmers, start to pour it in the egg mixture slowly, to prevent scrambling, and whisk very well.  Then return back to the pot and cook for a few minutes, until, when dipping a spoon in the mixture, you can run your finger through it and the cream won’t come back and form over the spot you swiped.  You can strain this mix if you think you accidentally made a mistake with the eggs, but if not, just pour it over your chocolate and mix until it is melted, then set aside. 

Next, take your mixing bowl from the fridge, add 1 cup of heavy cream and whip it until stiff peaks form. Then fold half of it gently, so volume isn’t lost, into the chocolate mix. Once that is done, fold in the rest and refrigerate your mousse. 

After that, get started on your strawberries. Rinse them off and cut them in whatever fashion you like. (I think they look pretty diced.) Once you finish cutting them, add them to a bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Mix and then chill for a few hours. You can always taste the strawberries as they are chilling to decide if they need more sugar or not. 

When you are ready to serve, place a mixing bowl in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes to chill. Add the remaining cream, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla to that bowl and whip it until you get stiff peaks. Then get a glass, and starting with mousse, layer the mousse and strawberries in any fashion you like. Finally, top with whipped cream and the shaved chocolate and enjoy!

This recipe is pretty simple and you can impress your valentine with them. If you like, use raspberries instead of strawberries. 

~Katrina