This fresh strawberry mousse is light, fluffy, delicious, and bursting with strawberry flavor! Made with just 4 ingredients, this mousse is the perfect dessert to be served for any occasion! Eggless and gelatin-free!
If you are looking for an easy, eggless, no-bake dessert for Valentine’s or simply to welcome Spring, then you will love this refreshing strawberry mousse recipe. It is airy and creamy with the perfect balance of fruity strawberry flavor that is not overly sweet and neither is it too tart!
Each spoonful of this luscious strawberry mousse is like savoring a fluffy cloud of creamy strawberry goodness!
Strawberries are in season for a very short time in India, from late November to early March. So I’m making the best of these seasonal strawberries.
This eggless strawberry mousse is a big hit with my family! It was polished off as soon as I was done taking the pictures!
Now that the market is flooded with strawberries, I really hope you will make some and enjoy it as much as my family does!
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe?
This creamy strawberry mousse;
☑ Is an easy, 4-ingredient, beginner-friendly recipe
☑ Is one of the simplest seasonal strawberry-based desserts
☑ Looks elegant
☑ Is bursting with strawberry flavor
☑ Is made without dairy, gelatin, agar-agar, or eggs
☑ Can be made ahead making it perfect for entertaining
☑ Makes for a great date night dessert
Ingredients required
To make this mousse, you will need the following ingredients,
Strawberries: Use fresh, sweet, plump, and ripe strawberries for the best-tasting mousse.
Whipping cream: I’ve used non-dairy whipping cream, which forms the base of the mousse! Make sure it’s cold before you start whipping it.
Sugar: I’ve used castor sugar, regular granulated sugar will also work fine. The quantity of sugar can be adjusted depending on the tartness of the strawberries.
Lemon juice: The acidity of the lemon juice balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the strawberries giving the sauce a depth of flavor.
Garnishes: I’ve garnished this mousse with whipping cream and strawberry halves. You can also use grated chocolate, edible flowers, mint leaves, etc.
How to make eggless strawberry mousse – Step-by-step process
Step 1: Prepare the strawberry reduction sauce
Add 450 grams of roughly chopped strawberries into a blender. Blend to a smooth puree. You should end up with approx 2 cups of strawberry puree. (Photos 1 and 2)
Pro tip: You may strain the puree for a smoother mousse. I left it as such since I don’t mind it.
Transfer the puree to a saucepan, and add 1/3 cup of castor sugar and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. (Photos 3 and 4)
Mix well and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue cooking, stirring often, until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. The sauce should reduce to 1 cup (250 grams). (Photos 5 to 7)
It takes approximately 8 to 10 minutes. You may skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
Transfer to a bowl and reserve 1/4 cup of the sauce and set aside to cool completely. (Photos 8 and 9)
Refrigerate the sauce for another 1-2 hours. It will thicken further on cooling.
Step 2: Whip the heavy cream
Add chilled whipping cream into a chilled mixing bowl. (Photo 10)
Whip on medium-high speed until it reaches the stiff peak consistency. (Photos 11 to 13)
The cream stays put and doesn’t move when you invert the bowl.
Note: Non-dairy whipping cream is already sweet, hence I’ve skipped adding extra sugar.
Step 3: Fold the strawberry reduction into the cream
Add the cooled strawberry sauce to the whipped cream in two batches, and fold it gently. (Photos 14 to 17)
Transfer the mousse to a piping bag fitted with a large, closed star nozzle or any other nozzle of your choice. You may skip the nozzle, and simply snip off the tip. (Photos 18 and 19)
Also, transfer the reserved strawberry reduction to a piping bag and snip off the tip just before you are ready to pipe. (Photo 20 )
Step 4: Pipe the mousse into serving glasses
Drizzle strawberry reduction along the insides of the glass. (Photo 21)
Pipe the mousse into desired serving bowls/cups or jars. (Photo 22)
Cover with cling wrap or lids if using jars, and refrigerate for about 3 to 4 hours or overnight for best results.
When you are ready to serve, top with more whipped cream, and strawberry halves! Enjoy! (Photo 23)
Storage instructions
Make-ahead: This fresh strawberry mousse will keep well in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days. So, it makes for an ideal make-ahead dessert. I do not recommend storing it beyond that since the whipped cream will begin to lose some volume.
Freeze: You may freeze the mousse in freezer-safe jars (like Ball Mason jars) for up to 2 months. This makes for a delicious frozen strawberry mousse. You could also thaw it overnight in the refrigerator but be sure to consume it within a day.
Recipe tips
Strawberry reduction sauce is a must: Do not be tempted to use the fresh strawberry puree as such. You have to cook it down to a thick sauce! Cooking down the mixture removes the moisture in the puree allowing for a thick, luscious sauce with concentrated strawberry flavor! The resultant mousse is also fluffy, and creamy, and holds its shape without any stabilizers.
Refrigerate the strawberry reduction before folding it with whipped cream: This helps the mousse set well and hold its shape.
Chill the bowl and beaters: Chilling the bowl and beaters/whisk in the fridge or freezer for at least 20 to 30 minutes will ensure that the cream whips up faster.
Variations
Mixed berries: Instead of strawberries, you can use a mix of other berries like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, mulberries, etc. Blend the berries to a smooth puree and prepare the reduction sauce as mentioned above. Do strain the puree if using other berries to get rid of the seeds.
Jam or strawberry crush: If you want to make this a no-cook recipe, you can use a good quality strawberry jam or strawberry crush. Since store-bought jams are quite sweet, start with 1/4 cup of jam or crush and add more as needed until you are satisfied with the sweetness and strawberry flavor.
Layered dessert: You can make alternate layers of biscuits crumbs or cake pieces, mousse, and strawberry compote or reduction sauce in dessert cups or glasses. That way you can stretch this recipe to yield more servings.
Nuts: You can top it with slivered almonds or pistachios to add some crunch.
Vanilla/strawberry extract: You can flavor the whipped cream with vanilla or strawberry extract for more strawberry flavor.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make this recipe with heavy cream?
Yes, you can! Make sure that it has a minimum of 36% milk fat. Do not overbeat the cream, or you will end up with butter. You will also need to add at least 2 tablespoons of sifted icing sugar to sweeten the cream.
I tried this recipe with Amul cream containing 30% fat and I couldn’t pipe the mousse. I just spooned it into serving glasses. It failed to set well on refrigeration and had a sort of runny consistency. It did have a better texture when frozen though.
I did not have great results with any Indian brand dairy whipping cream earlier, since none of them contained 36% and above milk fat. The only ones I could find were imported ones which are priced way too high! However, D’lecta has recently come out with a whipping cream that does contain 35% milk fat. I haven’t tried it yet, if you have tried it please share your experience in the comments below.
Heavy cream with 36% milk fat or anything above that should work much better.
Can I make this mousse with frozen strawberries?
Yes, absolutely! Frozen strawberries are usually packaged at the peak of ripeness and hence they are great to be used in this recipe. So it’s a great dessert to make all year round 😀
Thaw the strawberries, blend to a smooth puree, and follow the recipe for the sauce as you would with fresh strawberries.
Can I use this as icing for cakes/cupcakes?
Yes, this strawberry mousse made with non-dairy whipping cream is pretty stable to be used as a filling or to pipe swirls.
If you prefer to use dairy heavy cream instead, I’d suggest stabilizing it with gelatin or agar agar if you intend to use it as a frosting.
You may also enjoy these strawberry recipes
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Strawberry Mousse (Without Gelatin)
Ingredients
- 450 grams strawberries, rinsed, drained, hulled, and roughly chopped
- 75 grams castor or granulated sugar, 1/3 cup
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 250 ml whipping cream, I've used non-dairy
To garnish
- Sweetened whipped cream, optional, as needed
- Fresh strawberry halves or slices
Instructions
Prepare the strawberry reduction sauce
- Add roughly chopped strawberries into a blender. Blend to a smooth puree. You should end up with approx 2 cups of strawberry puree.
- Pro tip: You may strain the puree for a smoother mousse. I left it as such since I don’t mind it.
- Transfer the puree to a saucepan, add sugar and lemon juice.
- Mix well and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue cooking, stirring often, until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. The sauce should reduce to 1 cup (250 grams).
- It takes approximately 8 to 10 minutes. You may skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
- Transfer to a bowl and reserve 1/4 cup of the sauce and set aside to cool completely.
- Refrigerate the sauce for another 1-2 hours. It will thicken further on cooling.
Whip the heavy cream
- Add chilled whipping cream into a chilled mixing bowl.
- Whip on medium-high speed until it reaches the stiff peak consistency.
- The cream stays put and doesn’t move when you invert the bowl.
Fold the strawberry reduction into the cream
- Add the cooled strawberry sauce to the whipped cream in two batches, and fold it gently.
- Transfer the mousse to a piping bag fitted with a large, closed star nozzle or any other nozzle of your choice. You may skip the nozzle, and simply snip off the tip.
- Also, transfer the reserved strawberry reduction to a piping bag and snip off the tip just before you are ready to pipe.
Pipe the mousse into serving glasses
- Drizzle strawberry reduction along the insides of the glass.
- Pipe the mousse into desired serving bowls/cups or jars.
- Cover with cling wrap or lids if using jars, and refrigerate for about 3 to 4 hours or overnight for best results.
- When you are ready to serve, top with more whipped cream, and strawberry halves! Enjoy!
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