Strawberry Mousse Tartlets
Mini strawberry mousse tartlets are filled with a strawberry cream cheese nestled atop a pre-made crust for the perfect bite-sized delights.
Servings: 12 mini pies
Equipment
Ingredients
- pie dough store-bought or pre-made, enough for 2 pie crusts
- 2 Cups strawberries fresh, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice fresh is best
- 1 Tablespoon gelatin unflavored
- 8 Ounces mascarpone cheese
- ½ Cup granulated sugar divided plus 1 tablespoon
- 2 Cups whipping cream divided
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract divided and 1/2 teaspoon
Optional Garnishes:
- strawberries fresh
- mint sprigs fresh
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out your pie dough to an 1/8 inch thickness. If you are using frozen pre-made pie crusts that comes frozen in a pie plate, thaw slightly and remove from the tin onto a lightly floured surface and roll flat.
- Cut out your 5 inch dough circles and fit each tart or mini pie plate by lightly pushing the dough into place with your fingertips. Reroll your scraps and continue cutting out the dough until none remains. Place the tart pans on a baking sheet. Line each crust with a small piece of parchment paper and fill with your pie weights.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully remove the pie weights. Bake for an additional 4 or 5 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- While the crusts are cooling, place the chopped strawberries and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl. Using a handheld blender or food processor, blend the strawberries until they are smooth (a few little chunks are okay).
- Put the strawberry mixture into a medium saucepan and add the gelatin. Heat over medium high for 4-5 minutes, stirring continuously until the gelatin has completely dissolved. You don’t need the mixture to boil, you just want to warm it enough to activate the gelatin.
- Remove from heat and place back into the large bowl to cool to room temperature, about a half an hour.
- Once the mixture has cooled, add the mascarpone cheese and 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar. Fold the mixture until the cheese is completely incorporated. Set aside for now.
- In the bowl to your stand mixer, add 1 ½ cups of the whipping cream and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Whip until soft peaks form then slowly start adding 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar until stiff peaks form.
- Fold in ⅓ of the whipped cream into the strawberry mixture. Go slowly and carefully so you don’t lose all of the lovely whipped cream bubbles. Once incorporated, add another ⅓ of the mixture and continue folding. Do this until all the whipped cream is mixed in.
- Spoon the strawberry mixture into the baked pie crusts. You’ll need approximately ½ cup for every 4-inch tart crust.
- Chill for 2 to 3 hours or until set.
- Once you are ready to serve, beat the remaining ½ cup whipped cream in your stand mixer with the remaining ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. Slowly add 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar until peaks form. Dollop a spoonful of whipped cream onto each pie and garnish with fresh strawberry slices.
Notes
Store-bought tart shells: If you want to make your life even easier, purchase store-made tart shells and follow the baking instructions on the box.
Don't blend thawed berries: Thaw out frozen berries in a large mixing bowl. Because frozen berries tend to be squishier than fresh, you won’t need to chop them prior to blending.
Make-ahead whipped topping: If you'd like to make the whipped topping in advance, I would suggest adding a teaspoon of meringue powder to cream while you are whipping it. This will help stabilize the topping and will keep a little longer in the fridge. This also helps if you want to pipe the cream on top of the pie.
Don't blend thawed berries: Thaw out frozen berries in a large mixing bowl. Because frozen berries tend to be squishier than fresh, you won’t need to chop them prior to blending.
Make-ahead whipped topping: If you'd like to make the whipped topping in advance, I would suggest adding a teaspoon of meringue powder to cream while you are whipping it. This will help stabilize the topping and will keep a little longer in the fridge. This also helps if you want to pipe the cream on top of the pie.
Nutrition
Calories: 263kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 23mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 851IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 0.1mg
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