Mother’s Day is already this Sunday! I don’t know if you’ve already thought about a dessert for the occasion, but today I’m offering you a delicious recipe, perfectly in season: a strawberry charlotte, made up of a strawberry and basil confit, a ladyfinger sponge and a strawberry mousse.
It’s a dessert I had never made before. On the other hand, you can find on the blog a recipe for mango and passion fruit charlotte and a recipe for chocolate charlotte.
A charlotte isn’t that hard to make (yes yes, I promise), it’s delicious, it’s fresh, it’s indulgent with all that fresh fruit and it’s so pretty (ok ok, I’m not objective, I’m a strawberry fanatic). So this recipe will be perfect for the occasion. To make it, I took inspiration from the recipe by Maxime from the blog Empreinte sucrée. I just made a few small changes (the ladyfinger sponge is made with freeze-dried strawberry powder and I added a strawberry and basil confit).
How do you make a strawberry mousse?
There’s the simple version and the slightly harder version (but entirely doable). You can very well make a strawberry mousse with just whipped cream folded into a strawberry purée (to which you’ve added gelatine, of course). The only drawback of this method is that the strawberry flavour isn’t very pronounced.
But you can also make a strawberry mousse based on Italian meringue AND whipped cream. It will be less rich and you’ll get more of the strawberry flavour. It’s a method I discovered ages ago with the recipe for the raspberry mousse entremets with strawberry insert (oh my, those photos!!! A lot has happened in almost 10 years!).
How do I get my Italian meringue right?
There are 3 types of meringue: French, Italian and Swiss. To make this strawberry charlotte, you’ll need to make an Italian meringue. Here, you pour a sugar syrup that has been brought to 121°C over egg whites that you’ve started whisking. Italian meringue is used to make macarons but also to top desserts, such as meringue tarts or baked Alaskas for example. Note that this meringue isn’t baked in the oven like the other 2 types of meringue. So it’s used “soft” and that’s perfectly normal. You can also torch it with a blowtorch.
To get Italian meringue right, I first advise you to have a cooking thermometer. It’s not a big investment, and in fact you’ll find a very good thermometer at the Swedish store we all know, it works very well for less than €10. Once you have the right equipment, it’s very simple: you start whisking egg whites on one side and on the other, you bring water and sugar to the boil until it reaches exactly 121°C (hence the point of having a thermometer). When you’ve reached the right temperature, you just pour this sugar syrup very slowly over the whites (which should be frothy when the sugar syrup is added). Once the syrup is incorporated, set the stand mixer back to full speed and let everything cool (which takes several minutes).
Ingredients & method
5 components · Full recipe
Strawberry and basil jam (can be made the day before)
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) strawberry purée (or fresh blended strawberries, prepare a little extra)
- 50 g (1.8 oz) diced strawberries (brunoise)
- 8 g (0.3 oz) lemon juice
- 15 g (0.5 oz) sugar
- 3.5 g (0.1 oz) pectin
- a handful of basil leaves
Method
1
Wash the strawberries. Cut 50 g (1.8 oz) of strawberries into small dice.
2
Finely chop the fresh basil then place it in a saucepan with the strawberry purée, the diced strawberries and the lemon juice and heat for a few minutes.
3
Add the pre-mixed sugar and pectin and bring to the boil for one minute.
4
Pour the strawberry jam into a wide dish, cover with cling film directly on the surface and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. The jam should set firm under the action of the pectin. Once the jam has gelled, blend with an immersion blender and transfer to a piping bag with no nozzle.
5
Refrigerate until needed for assembly.
Lady fingers
Ingredients
- 50 g (1.8 oz) plain flour
- 50 g (1.8 oz) cornflour
- 80 g (2.8 oz) egg yolks (about 4 yolks)
- 140 g (4.9 oz) egg whites
- 100 g (3.5 oz) sugar
- A little red powder food colouring (optional)
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.
2
Mix the egg yolks with a drop of water-soluble red food colouring (if using).
3
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, adding the sugar in 3 batches.
4
Fold in the egg yolks using a spatula, then gently fold in the sifted flours (plain flour and cornflour).
5
Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a 14 mm round nozzle.
6
On a sheet of baking paper, draw 2 horizontal parallel lines 6 cm (2.4 in) apart at the top of the sheet, and 2 more at the bottom. This creates a ‘cartridge strip’. You will need enough to go around the ring (around 60 cm (23.6 in) total), so I recommend making 2 strips of 30 cm (11.8 in) each. Pipe slightly angled sausages of batter from one line to the other (6 cm (2.4 in) apart).
7
On another lined baking tray, pipe 2 circles of 18 cm (7.1 in) in diameter. I always prefer to pipe slightly larger and then trim to the correct size.
8
Bake both trays for about 10 minutes (check depending on the thickness of your sponge). I swap the trays halfway through baking.
9
Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and leave to cool. Carefully peel off the baking paper, then cut 2 strips of 29 cm (11.4 in) in length and 6 cm (2.4 in) in height. The strip should already be the correct height (6 cm (2.4 in)) but I recommend trimming the bottom edge slightly for a neater finish. Also cut 2 circles of 16 cm (6.3 in) in diameter. I replaced a small portion of the flour with freeze-dried strawberry powder (from Koro) and also sprinkled some on top before baking, which gives this appearance to my sponge.
Strawberry mousse
Ingredients
- 280 g (9.9 oz) strawberry purée (or fresh blended strawberries, prepare a little extra)
- 28 g (1 oz) sugar
- 8.4 g (0.3 oz) powdered gelatine (= just over 4 gelatine sheets)
- 50 g (1.8 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
- 25 g (0.9 oz) water
- 75 g (2.6 oz) sugar
- 36 g (1.3 oz) egg white (just over one white)
- 280 g (9.9 oz) full-fat whipping cream
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in the water.
2
Blend the fresh strawberries (or strawberry purée) with 28 g (1 oz) of sugar.
3
Prepare the syrup for the Italian meringue. Pour the water and sugar into a saucepan and cook until it reaches 121°C / 250°F.
4
As soon as the thermometer reads 110°C / 225°F, start whisking the egg whites in a stand mixer (or with an electric hand whisk) until frothy. Once the syrup reaches 121°C / 250°F, reduce the mixer speed and pour the syrup in a thin stream over the egg whites. Increase to medium speed and whisk until the mixture cools (about 5 minutes).
5
Whip the cream with a mixer until it forms soft peaks — it should remain slightly loose so it can be incorporated more easily.
6
Melt the rehydrated gelatine in a small saucepan with a small portion of the strawberry purée (if using sheets, squeeze them out first). Once the gelatine is fully melted, stir and pour back into the cold strawberry purée. Mix well with a whisk.
7
Add half the Italian meringue to the strawberry purée and fold in gently with a spatula. Then add half the whipped cream and fold in the same way.
8
Repeat with the remaining Italian meringue then the remaining whipped cream. Move on to assembly without delay.
Assembly
Ingredients
- 125 g (4.4 oz) strawberries
Method
1
Wash and hull the strawberries. Cut into quarters.
2
Line an 18 cm (7.1 in) diameter, 6 cm (2.4 in) high pastry ring with acetate and place on the serving plate (it will be impossible to move the charlotte later unless placed on a cardboard presentation disc).
3
Place the 2 sponge strips inside the ring (against the acetate, with the pretty side facing outward).
4
Place one of the 2 sponge discs at the bottom (the prettiest side facing down onto the serving plate).
5
Pour in half the strawberry mousse then arrange a generous layer of strawberry pieces on top.
6
Pipe a few dots of strawberry and basil jam here and there (don’t use it all).
7
Place the second sponge disc on top (either side up).
8
Pour over the remaining strawberry mousse and smooth with a small offset spatula. The mousse should not rise above the sponge strip.
9
Refrigerate overnight.
Decoration
Ingredients
- 500 g (17.6 oz) strawberries
Method
1
Wash and hull the strawberries. Cut some in half and others into quarters.
2
Carefully remove the ring and the acetate.
3
Arrange the strawberry pieces attractively over the entire surface of the charlotte.
4
Pipe the remaining strawberry and basil jam in the gaps, then add a few small basil leaves.
5
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Gallery
