Strawberry Delight

 Strawberry Parfait Mousse is one of the prettiest desserts; it also tastes delicious. 
In spite of it being time-consuming, it is simple enough to construct. It is just perfect for any special occasion. It will feed at least 15 to 20 people. 
This is one of my mum's artistic creations that she has shared. I have made this with strawberry, but you can substitute raspberry or even mix both into the equation and make it even more flavorful. Using your favourite seasonal berry always results in the best flavours.

A Strawberry Parfait Mousse with meringues. Lets just call it a Strawberry Delight?

Meringue

Pre-heat the oven to 300 F/ 150 C
Prepare two cookie sheets with two parchment discs ; 10inch/ 25cm in diameter 4inch/10cm deep

1 1/4 cup almonds
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp flour

4 large egg whites
pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
Grind together the almonds, sugar, and flour until fine. Keep aside 

In a bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks are formed, gradually adding the salt and sugar. Once it is firm and glossy, stop the machine. 
With a metal spoon, fold in the ground almond, sugar, and flour mixture into two halves. 
Fill a large piping bag with half the meringue mixture and pipe the meringue on to the parchment, going round in circles starting from the centre point until the entire 9 inch diameter is covered. 
Repeat on the second parchment. 
Place the trays in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until fairly firm. Cool completely.

Strawberry Parfait Mousse
500g/ 1.1 lb of hulled  and chopped strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt

1/4 cup of the strawberry juice

1 tbsp gelatine powder

10 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar

4 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cup whipping cream 

In a bowl, put the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Let it macerate and create juices for 2 hours. Now either use an immersion blender or with a fork, break the strawberries down as best as you can. 

Prepare the gelatine blossom; remove a little of the strawberry juice and add the gelatine to it. Leave it for a few minutes. 

With an electric beater, beat the remaining strawberry juice, 10 egg yolks, and sugar until very light over a pan of hot water or on a low flame. This will take 15 minutes. Remove it from the fire and add the blossomed gelatine to it. Mix well. Cool completely. 

In another bowl, beat the whipping cream to soft peaks and fold it into the strawberry mixture. 
Keep cool 

Prepare a sugar syrup with the sugar and water. Put it on a flame to ensure all the crystals are melted. Bring it to a boil and allow it to become thicker. 

In another bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. With the beater running, pour in the hot sugar syrup until the egg whites turn into a glossy, shiny meringue. 
Fold this gently into the strawberry mixture.



Assembly 
In a 33cm/10-inch springform pan, place the ready-cooked meringue disc. 
Pour the strawberry mousse almost to the top, then place the second disc of meringue on top. Press down. Cover it with foil and place it in the freezer. 

Tips
Each stage is important. The Parfait Mousse should not set too quickly when waiting for the cream to be mixed in. It should not be too warm with the egg white mixed in that it melts. Keep ice bowls at hand in case you need them. This really depends on how hot your kitchen is depending on your location. 

Once the dessert is frozen, it is best served when it softens a bit. Keep a jar of warm water to put your cake knife in to get clean, neat slices. 
It is best to do the topping once you are ready to serve. The lines in the picture are made of the juice boiled down to make a coulis, or a teaspoon of jam added to it. It has to be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Use an icing gun for neat results. 

While a mousse is not frozen, a parfait does not have gelatine, hence I call it a parfait mousse!

My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself and on Amazon.

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 3 award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022. 

The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.

Pavlova

 Pavlova

Created as a masterpiece to honour the great ballerina Anna Pavlova, this scrumptious dessert is served on a perfect meringue which has a crunchy shell yet a sticky gooey center filled with lavish spoonful of sherry custard cream topped with fresh fruits. Generally served in the summer time there is much discussion on the bragging rights.

Anna Pavlova was born in Russia and died in the Netherlands at the young age of 50. She is the first ballerina to start her own ballet troop that toured the world. Legend has it that the pavlova was created during her tour of New Zealand in the 1920's. It is now an equally popular dish in Russia, New Zealand and Australia and often served on festive occasions.

Nectarine strawberry and blueberry make a delicious combination. - making small 

individual meringues like snow balls and cracking them from the top to fill it up is delicate and fun.

                          Pavlova family style is easier to prepare. You can pipe the top of the meringue or                                                              simply make a dip using the back of the spoon.

Step 1 is the Meringue Shell

Step 2 is filling the shell with Crème pâtissière 

The final product topped with fresh fruit of  your choice.

The Meringue Shell
3 large egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup fine sugar

Preheat the oven to 275 F/ . Beat the egg whites and  cream of tartar until it is frothy and comes together and then start adding the sugar very slowly 1 tbsp at a time until soft peaks are formed  and it turns glossy.
Spread out on a 9 inch/23 cm buttered paper placed on a tray or in a buttered oven proof pie dish. Using the back of the spoon smooth it out making a dip in the center as in the picture below. Be very gentle. If you wish to make the edges fancy, place  one third of the meringue in a large piping bag and finish it with edges. Bake for 1 hour until a light pinkish hue appears. Turn the oven off and allow it to cool inside the oven. This is the ''drying'' process of the meringue.


Creme Patisserie
2 cups cream
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp sherry
In a pan mix the sugar flour salt and cream. Whisk to cook over a low flame. Bring to a boil for a minute or two.
In another bowl mix 2 egg yolks vanilla and sherry, mix it well. Now add 1 tbsp of the hot mixture to the egg and beat it well. This will temper the eggs so they don't curdle. Now through a sieve push the egg mix into the cream mix and keep mixing. Bring it back to the stove for a minute to allow the eggs to cook through. Keep stirring to keep it smooth. Put a piece of cling film over the custard so it does not form a skin over it.

Fruits
you will need two cups of prepared fruit for this recipe.
Choose firm fleshed fruits that do not disintegrate quickly. Prepare them by peeling and dicing. Toss in a bowl. Cover tightly and keep refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Add a touch of lime or lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a dash of sugar to bring out all the flavours. 

Tips

An electric hand beater is perfect for this. 
The pie dish is what you will serve it in. It cannot be removed  on a platter once baked.
The egg whites must be at room temperature.
3/4 tsp of lemon juice is a good substitute for cream of tartar.
Do not over beat and dry out the egg whites, the test to see the soft peaks is to remove the beater from the bowl and if the little peak of meringue on the edge of your beater is glossy and stays pointed it is done.
You can make small individual ones if you prefer, reduce the baking time to 45 minutes. This quantity will make 12 small meringue shells.

A mango Pavlova is also delicious with a few blueberries tossed in it for colour. Peaches are delightful too. Adding a teaspoon of Sherry or Limoncello is also an option to consider specially if you think your fruits are not as delicious as they look.

Your meringue will depend a lot on your weather. If it is damp and rainy it is very hard to get a crisp dry meringue. 

To read about an ancient cuisine you can purchase my cookbooks called The World of Parsi Cooking; Food Across Borders and The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine.  .

Click Creme Patisserie  for other optional recipes on Niloufer's Kitchen using this custard.

For more delicious recipes download 
Niloufer's Kitchen: French Bistro
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J2KMB4C

Read more about Niloufer's Kitchen in the Huffington Post Bloggers Club. The French In My Food.

Readers Comments

April 01, 2018 Zubeida Mirza Tried the pavlova on Easter weekend Niloufer Mavalvala!! 
Was a huge success!!

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