This mousse is a perfect summer dessert! It’s creamy, light and refreshing and completely bursting with fresh strawberry flavors! The cream cheese gives it a slightly decadent edge and tang to balance out the sweetness. This delicious mousse, topped with fresh berries, is a perfect way to end a meal that will satisfy your sweet tooth, without weighing you down.
Here’s what you need:
Be prepared.
Mousse can be intimidating, but it’s actually not difficult. There are multiple steps, but if you read through the process first and have all your ingredients measured and prepped before starting, you will find it is not difficult at all!
This mousse is divided into two basic components, the base and the aerators. The base ingredients are the reduced strawberries, egg yolks and cream cheese. The aerators are the whipped egg whites and the whipped cream. I don’t add a thickener to this recipe because I find the cream cheese is very sturdy and holds the mousse together.
Start with the base.
Begin by pureeing the strawberries in a food processor until smooth.
Pour the purée into a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup of the sugar and lemon zest.
Simmer the strawberry purée until very well reduced. This should take 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. It will be like a jam, with practically no liquid remaining.
While it’s cooking down, you can get started on your eggs. Separate them and set the whites aside for later. Make sure there is no trace of yolk in the whites, as even the smallest amount of yolk can prevent the whites from aerating. Whisk the yolks until pale yellow and light.
Once the strawberry purée has reduced, turn off the heat. Then, whisk a small amount of purée into the yolks at a time until it is all combined. You are slowly introducing heat into the yolks to cook them without scrambling them. This is sort of like making a curd, only we’re not adding butter because we are going to be adding this whole thing to the cream cheese later. Yum!
Once all the strawberry purée is in the yolks, set the custard aside to cool to room temperature. I don’t strain the strawberry purée. I want the seeds in the finished mousse so you get the whole essence of fresh strawberries.
Beat the cream cheese and another 1/4 cup of the sugar with a paddle attachment in a stand mixer, or hand mixer until fully incorporated. Stir in the vanilla, salt and lemon juice.
Once the strawberry custard mixture has cooled, stir it into the cream cheese until just combined. Don’t over mix this and make sure the strawberry custard has cooled before doing this step. If it’s too hot, it will melt the cream cheese. Set this aside.
Make the aerators.
I chose to do Italian meringue for this recipe. It’s the most stable of meringues and in my experience testing this recipe, it did the best job of holding its shape under the weight of all the other heavy ingredients in the mousse. Also, I know there are those who don’t love the idea of eating uncooked eggs. This way, everyone’s happy.
Start by whisking the 3 egg whites in a stand mixer on medium until foamy, then add the cream of tartar. At the very same time, stir together another 1/4 cup of sugar with 2 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan to make a syrup. Heat the syrup to 240 degrees. Ideally the whites should reach soft peaks at the very same time the syrup reaches temperature. If the eggs get there first, just turn off the mixer until the syrup is ready.
Once the syrup reaches 240 degrees, immediately remove from the heat and with the mixer on medium, slowly drizzle it into the egg whites. Turn the mixer up to medium-high and whisk a few more minutes, until they reach stiff peaks. (Again this can be done with a hand mixer as well, but you will need an extra pair of hands to help.)
Add a third of the meringue at a time to the strawberry cream cheese custard base and gently fold in with a rubber spatula, being careful not to deflate the egg whites.
Set the mousse aside and you are almost at the final step.
Whisk the heavy cream on high for a few minutes until it reaches stiff peaks.
Fold the whipped cream into the mousse just like you did with the meringue. Refrigerate your delicious, decadent strawberry cheesecake mousse for about an hour to chill and firm up.
There are many ways to enjoy this beautiful dessert! Drizzle on some Simple Strawberry Sauce for an extra burst of strawberry flavor. Or top it with a little more whipped cream (why not?) and some crushed pretzels for a crunchy, salty bite!
More recipes to try:
Strawberry Cheesecake Mousse
Ingredients
- 1 pound strawberries fresh or frozen
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar divided
- 1 lemon zested and half juiced
- 3 eggs separated
- 6 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Purée the strawberries in a food processor for about 30 seconds or until very smooth. Pour the purée into a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup of sugar and the lemon zest. Simmer on medium heat for about 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Practically all of the liquid should be reduced out at this point and should be deep red and thick. While it is reducing, separate the eggs and set the whites aside for later. Whisk the yolks for a couple minutes until they are fluffy and pale yellow. Once the strawberry purée has reduced, remove from the heat and stir a small amount at a time into the egg yolks. Keep adding until all the hot strawberry sauce is mixed in. Set this custard aside to cool at room temperature.In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the softened cream cheese with 1/4 cup of sugar until light and fluffy, about a minute or two. Stir in the vanilla, salt and half lemon juice. Fold the the cooled strawberry custard into the cream cheese until just incorporated. Next, in the stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy, then add the cream of tartar. While the eggs are whisking, heat another 1/4 cup of sugar with 2 tablespoons of water on the stove until it reaches 240 degrees. Ideally, the syrup should reach temperature at the same time the eggs get to soft peaks. If the eggs get there first, just turn off the mixer until the syrup is ready. As soon as the syrup reaches 240 degrees, immediately remove from the heat and with the mixer on medium, drizzle the hot syrup into the eggs. When all the syrup is in, turn the mixer to high and continue to whisk until stiff peaks are formed, about 7-8 minutes. The bowl of the mixer, should be lukewarm when it's readyGently fold the meringue into the cooled strawberry and cream cheese custard. Finally beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks and fold it into the strawberry, cheesecake, meringue mixture. Place in the fridge to chill until serving. Top with more whipped cream, crushed pretzels, strawberries and/or strawberry sauce.
Perfect for a hot summer afternoon!