Fruit Mousse in Tuile Rings

For the warm summer weather, with fresh fruits in season, I wanted to make a light, not too sugary dessert. Fruit mousse is an obvious winner – simple to make, eaten cold, with countless possibilities of flavour pairings… I decided on the combination of nectarine and lemongrass for the first mousse, and strawberry-hibiscus for the second. But to not seem lazy and just pour it all into a mold, I decided to “pack” them in crispy honey tuiles. It’s still fast to make, but with a little patience the whole becomes a very elegant, rather than everyday, dessert.

The nectarine lemongrass combination works very well together, but the result is quite acidic, so not for every taste. Using very ripe nectarines and fresh lemongrass (instead of the dried I had, that required more soaking) would improve on the balance of the flavours.

Strawberry and hibiscus combination was a wonderful discovery for me. The hibiscus flowers add a beautiful red colour to the strawberry mousse, that otherwise tends to get lost as the puree is mixed with the whipped cream. Apart form improving the visual aspect, the subtle flavour of the hibiscus complements the sweetness of the strawberries very well. Definitely a combination to use again.

RECIPE

Fruit mousse

• 250g fruit puree
• 6g gelatine
• 250g whipped cream

 

Tuiles

• 50g egg whites
• 50g icing sugar
• 50g butter
• 50g honey
• 50g flour

 

PROCEDURE

Fruit mousse

Prepare the puree – for the nectarines, i peeled them, diced hem, then slowly simmered, along with some sugar and lemongrass. For the strawberries, i added about 10g of dried hibiscus flowers, and a bag of vanilla sugar. When the fruits soften, puree them with a blender, and strain or not according to the fruit and personal preference.

While the puree is still warm, add the gelatine, mix well. Let it cool and then gently fold in the whipped cream.

Pour into round molds and freeze for about 2 hours.

Tuiles

Mix the egg whites with the icing sugar. Add the melted butter, honey and finally flour. Mix well, then spread on parchment paper in rectangular form, following the size of the mould you used for the mousse (height the same as the mould, length corresponding to it’s circumference).

Bake at 170° C for around 10-12min. Try making them no more than three at a time, as they harden quickly when taken out of the oven, and are therefore difficult to shape. When baked, take one rectangle and twist it around the ring you used for the mousse. Press the edges together (use gloves, the tuiles are hot). Let them rest until they cool down and become firm.

ASSEMBLY

Demould the mousses, after leaving them in the fridge for a while, so they thaw off a bit. Carefully cut each one in half. Fit the half into the tuile rings, working as fast as possible (yes, the mousse will get a bit deformed, and the tuiles might break, but practice makes perfect 🙂 I ruined 3 before i manged to squeeze the first mousse in). Decorate with pieces of fruit and some mint leaves. Serve immediately.

After that’s done, it’s clearly time for a drink 😉