White Chocolate-Strawberry Mousse Parfait

Elegant, creamy white chocolate mousse, a buttery shortbread crumble and fresh strawberry sauce are layered in parfait or stemmed glassware.

Recipe Ingredients:

Mousse:
8 ounces premium quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped (must contain cocoa butter to melt properly and to set)
1 large egg
1 cup heavy cream, heated until very hot (do not boil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash kosher or sea salt

Strawberry Sauce:
2 cups fresh strawberries, stemmed and hulled*
2 tablespoons honey or to taste

Shortbread Crumble:
8 shortbread cookies (such as Walker's Shortbread), crushed
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

Garnish:
6 whole strawberries, stems attached
1/2 cup lightly sweetened whipped cream

Cooking Directions:

1. For Mousse: Place chopped white chocolate, egg and vanilla into the container of electric blender and blend for 30 seconds.
2. Remove center of blender lid and while machine is running on medium to low speed, slowly pour heated cream into the chocolate mixture. Blend until well mixed and chocolate is melted. Pour mixture into a large mixing bowl and refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours.
3. With an electric mixer, beat the mousse mixture until stiff peaks form.
4. For Strawberry Sauce: In a food processor or blender, purée 1/2 cup strawberries on high speed until smooth. Place purée in a bowl. Slice the remaining strawberries and add to the puréed strawberries. Stir in the honey; using more or less according to personal preference. Chill. Makes 1 cup sauce.
5. For Shortbread Crumble: In a small bowl, combine the crushed shortbread cookies with the melted butter, mixing well. Chill; break up into crumbles.
6. To Assemble: Alternately layer the mousse, shortbread crumble and strawberry sauce into 6 parfait glasses, beginning and ending with the mousse. Chill until ready to serve. Just before serving, top with whipped cream and garnish each with a whole strawberry that has been sliced just to the stem and fanned out.

Makes 6 servings.

*Frozen whole strawberries, thawed slightly, may be substituted for the fresh strawberries when not in season.

Tips:

• Other types of berries or soft-fleshed, juicy fruit such as ripe peaches can also be used.
  
• For more texture and flavor, try adding a few tablespoons of finely chopped toasted nuts to the mousse before layering.

Recipe by Hope Cantil; copyright © 1999; property of CooksRecipes.com. See Terms of Use.