Yogurt Strawberry Mousse with Strawberry Coulis
If my blogging rules consisted of posting every single dish I have, you would see this mousse at least every other day during the whole strawberry season (regardless the weather). In fact, this is one of the rare sweet treats I never get bored with. First of all, I never get tired of strawberries and if they are a part of a very light, quick and easy dessert, which moreover keeps fresh for several days in the fridge, it obviously becomes my staple.
I have already posted a basic light strawberry mousse recipe (see below), but this one is my recent favourite: it is topped with an irresistible strawberry coulis. Making the coulis (which consists simply in mixing fruits with confectioner’s sugar) takes a minute, but adds an additional texture, a sharper flavour and, in my opinion, a little elegant touch.
If you don’t feel like making the coulis (or don’t have enough strawberries), here is a basic version of my Yogurt Strawberry Mousse:
TIPS: I used to prepare all my quick fruit mousses with fresh cheese (also called “quark” or “farmers cheese”) and discovered that this mousse is perfect with yogurt too. Given the fact that many of my readers cannot easily buy fresh cheese, the yogurt version can be prepared I suppose all around the world. The only tiny difference is that when made with quark or Greek yogurt, this mousse is slightly creamier than the one prepared with yogurt. Both are terrific.
The amounts of gelatin depend sometimes on the brand. Leaves are sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller, powdered gelatin sometimes contains other products and doesn’t set as well as pure gelatin in powder… In short, the aim here is to use here the amount of gelatin which sets 500 ml/2 cups/about 17 oz liquid. (The whole mousse mixture has more than 500 ml, so the mousse will be firm but not hard).
Preparation: 10 minutes+ 2 – 3 hours in the fridge
Ingredients (serves 4):
250 g (about 1 cup) unsweetened natural yogurt (you can use also Greek yogurt, which will make this mousse creamier, or quark (fresh cheese))
300 g (about 11oz) strawberries (hulled)
4 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar or sweetener (or no sugar if you prefer your mousse to be very tangy)
1 tablespoon gelatin in powder or other amount necessary to set 500 ml liquid, see TIPS above (you can use leaves too, in amounts necessary to set 500 ml/2 cups liquid)
(some strawberries for the decoration)
Coulis:
150 g (about 5- 6 oz) chilled strawberries
4 flat teaspoons confectioner’s sugar (or more if you want)
Mix the strawberries in a food processor or a blender. Add the sugar and the yogurt (remove the liquid floating on the surface). Mix once more.
Taste and add more sugar if needed.
Dissolve the gelatin in 4 tablespoons warm water (if using leaves, soften them in cold water, squeeze and dissolve also in 4 tablespoons warm water).
In a food processor mix well the dissolved gelatin with the strawberry mixture.
Divide the mousse into serving dishes.
Put the mousse into the fridge for 2 -3 hours until it sets.
Coulis should be prepared just before serving: in a blender mix the remaining strawberries with confectioner’s sugar. Top each serving dish with an equal amount of coulis.
Serve very cold.
This sounds like a very good dessert. Very little added sugar. I suppose honey can be used instead of sugar to get rid of sugar, if one wanted to. I will definitely be making this.
Have a great weekend
Thanks a lot, Mr. Three-Cookies. The amount of sugar depends of course on the strawberries and on everyone’s preferences. Honey would change the taste of the whole dessert, but if you like it of course it’s a nice replacement. It’s incredibly easy and you can prepare 4 or 5 portions and keep them in the fridge for almost a week. Then, whenever you feel like having a light refreshing snack, it’s waiting for you in the fridge 😉
What a beautiful treat! Love the lovely two-toned presentation of the mousse. It looks amazing, Sissi! Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Thank you so much, Ray. It’s also very easy and irresistibly good…
This is definitely a dessert I can get into Sissi, so light and refreshing and wonderful. I love the presentation with the coulis as the top layer, very classy. Our berries are going to be late this year because Spring didn’t arrive until last week (and it’s rather questionable that it’s still here, today was only 4°C when we woke up at 6:30!). With this colder spring I am really hoping that the summer will be very hot, making this the perfect dessert to explore. And when strawberry season is over, raspberries would make an excellent alternative (seeds strained out). By two tablespoons of gelatin, I am assuming that this mousse is quite firm, our gelatin package says 1 tbsp per cup of liquid — not that I might a firm mousse at all but it’s something to keep in mind.
Thank you very much, Eva. Here strawberries aren’t great yet (apparently it’s the worst May in the last 50 years in my city!) but I go to France and buy those from Southern France. Even though from greenhouses, they are really good. I prepare this dessert even when it’s cold because I love such light refreshing desserts at any time. They are also a small portion of calcium and healthy proteins from the yogurt… In short, I have a dessert but no guilt 😉 This mousse is quite firm indeed because neither the yogurt nor the strawberries set when chilled (unlike chocolate for example).
UPDATE: Eva, I’m sorry I have mixed up gelatin amounts… I have been using a strange gelatin-like powder which I have to double to obtain the same result as with gelatin and I have completely forgotten it’s different… I have just corrected the error: normally 1 tablespoon gelatin should be enough here, not 2 tablespoons…
How beautiful and delicate…love all the way!
Thank you, Squishy Monster.
I love the name … coulis. It is definitely a sauce I want to make and using it over a lovely mousse like this seems like getting an extra hit of strawberries. I would like to wait til the sweeter locally grown ones are on the shelves though and it needs to get a lot warmer for that to happen. It’s hard to work myself up to making a cold dessert when it’s just under 60 deg F (42 deg C) outside and not much more than that in the house as I shut the heat off again … for good I hope. 🙂
Thanks a lot, A_Boleyn. The funny thing is that my locally grown strawberries taste (and smell!) worse than those I buy in France (and which often come from the South of France), so I don’t mind. On the other hand Southern France is only several hundred km from here…
I don’t know why I’ve never made a strawberry mousse! This is sure to become a favorite of mine, too! Just gorgeous, Sissi.
Thank you so much, Liz. It’s very easy and so light! I hope you will make it one day.
I love the colors! The coulis really adds to the presentation. With the summer months coming up, this is definitely one of the things I want to try. It would be a wonderful cooling treat. The fact that it’s beautiful is just a bonus! 🙂
Thank you so much, Gomo. It’s very cooling on hot days but also now when it’s colder I find it excellent after a heavier – or spicier 😉 – meal.
I am very definitely not a dessert person, but this I would eat any day! And so easy to make and beautiful to look at 🙂 ! Love the yogurt angle and shall try it with the Greek yogurt of which there are so many different kinds available in Australia now [most yogurts I make myself: Greek, if I use, I normally get from the big array at the supermarket] . . .
Thank you so much, Eha. It’s a bit like an improved and thicker strawberry yogurt with a coulis 😉 Your home-made yogurts must be extraordinary!
This is such a beautiful treat and definitely perfect for the Strawberry season. I don’t blame you for making this every other day. I bet it tasted fantastic. 🙂
Thanks a lot, Amy. I have just made another batch for the week to come 😉
I love everything about this dessert, Sissi, especially how easy it is to prepare and celebrates strawberries in their high season. I usually have them only mix in yogurt every other night, but a mousse is such a nice play on textures, so I’m definitely trying it 🙂
Thank you so much, Gourmantine. It is really easy and as you say, a real celebration of the strawberry.
Ah, Sissi, this is just so darn pretty… it has to be one of your loveliest! So fresh and appetizing looking. And you know, I always enjoy the simplicity of your desserts and your clever use of ingredients. You let the fruit shine and that way you don’t have to kill us with sugar kindness ;-). I like a touch a sweet but have never had much time for the unabashed use of the stuff that typically goes in to most desserts — your touch seems just right for my taste. The coulis is such a nice idea too – the layers come through beautifully in the glass (lovely photo perspective!).
Thank you so much, Kelly. I am really flattered by your kind compliments… I love simple desserts and especially when they are light enough to make me enjoy them carelessly. I don’t like very sweet desserts (to be frank I am forced to increase the sugar amounts on my blog; otherwise I’m scared that people would hate me once they taste the result 😉 so if you ever prepare this mousse, feel free to cut down the sugar by half).
If this is one of your favorite desserts, I know I would like it as our tastes for sweet and tart things are very similar. The dessert is so pretty as well.
Thank you, Karen. I’m sure you would like this one too.
Sissi, I love a good berry mousse, and strawberry mousse, especially made with yoghurt is my all-time favorite. You’ve even turned it up a notch…strawberry coulis topping! Wow…love it, and love the simplicity of the presentation, so pretty, and absolutely divine! xo
Thank you so much, Elisabeth. The coulis is so quick to prepare but adds a lot in terms of taste and texture and even looks!
Lovely! It’s a perfectly warm and sunny day for this…I can’t wait to use all the summer berries coming into season.
Thanks a lot, Irina. I wonder if warm days will ever come this year…
Beautiful strawberry mousse! A definite must try! Thank you Sissi!
Thank you, Tessa.
This is a very dreamy and delicious dessert! Yum!!
Thank you, Kiran.
Fantastic pictures! Lovely dessert!
Thank you, Nipponnin.
I’m with you – I could never get tired of strawberries! We’ve been eating them every morning in our cereal and then throwing a few in salads at night. Now it’s time to move to the next course and make your strawberry mousse. I definitely would add the coulis. Now only does it look easy, it makes a gorgeous little treat! Thanks for another fabulous recipes and delicious dessert! So question – could you replace the gelatin with agar? I have plenty of agar, but no gelatin.
Thanks a lot, MJ. It is easy indeed! Of course you can use agar, but I wonder what amount… certainly not the one that sets 500 ml (2 cups) because it would set this dessert too much (the volume is slightly above 2 cups only). I use agar quite often (for example in this Coffee and Coconut Cream http://www.withaglass.com/?p=11134), but have always boiled warmed the whole dessert with it… Here it’s impossible to boil and warm the yogurt, but I have heard it’s possible to warm agar in a small amount of liquid and then add it to the cold remaining part. Now you have made me really curious! Please let me know if you try it.
What a beautiful and elegant dessert Sissi…I love it all strawberry 🙂
Cream mousse and the coulis on top.
Have a lovely week my dear!
Thanks a lot, Juliana.
I would drink this every (other) day too if I could. It looks like it has abundant vitamin C. Just by looking at it, I can feel that my skin is looking good. lol – probably not though. 🙂
Thank you so much, Sue. Actually it’s a thick mousse, not a drink but I agree it looks like a smoothie 😉 When I have it I always feel like eating something healthy too…
Mhm a strawberry mousse with topfen. We don’t get the central european fresh cheese here but I would mix some normal yoghurt with paneer to get the consistency and taste. Comes close to quark but of course never the same. What type of quark did you use, because I know we have semi hard ones and hard ones and some are more liquidy. Unfortunatly I will have to wait until I can make your recipe Sissi, simply because the strawberry season is over here.
Thank you, Helene. This one was actually made with yogurt, but it can be made with very smooth, creamy quark. I change according to my mood and what i have in the fridge. I’m sure you have a choice of many other wonderful fruits that go perfectly well with this yogurt basis.
I *always* feel like making a coulis. Seriously, it’s such an easy thing to make and takes like just a couple minutes and can make a world of difference to a dish, even if it’s just to dot on the plate as some fancy decoration!
This looks very tasty Sissi – cool, light and refreshing, although I think I’d switch strawberries for raspberries. I seem to become more and more tired of strawberries as time goes by (I think because for most of the year I end up eating terrible, flavourless ones grown in big plastic tunnels in Spain).
Thank you, Charles. You know, if low-quality mass-produced products were supposed to put me off other better quality choices, I would stop eating everything… I like raspberries a lot too, but in general prefer strawberries I think. I don’t know about Spanish strawberries, but given the weather this year, Italian or French (from the south) are the only option if one expects any sweetness… Swiss ones are completely tasteless, even organic ones. I haven’t tasted raspberries this year yet.
I made this Sissi. But now I want to try them with a different gelatine I found at the health food store, it comes in sheets and is plant based and organic hehe.
Thank you, Zsuzsa, for this kind message. I have just hopped to your blog and loved the raspberry version! I will remember it when I find good raspberries, but frozen fruit is also a good option. You can also try it with agar (I have never tried, although I use agar often in other desserts).
Sissi! Love your portrait picture, A LOT! So happy you are experimenting with photography. It’s fun to see something different (which always tell myself that I need to do something about my same old style pictures). Your mousse is gorgeous. We eat strawberries everyday, every single day….and still we don’t mind eating strawberry dessert. Love this dessert on warm days.
Nami, thank you so much for the compliments. I am extremely flattered such an excellent photograph likes my photo! (I am still a bit uneasy about this shape of the photo…). I also have strawberries almost every day. We have to profit from their season! Frozen strawberries are good only in cakes and maybe smoothies, but still so far from fresh ones…