Strawberry Trompe-l'œil

Melting strawberry centre: To make this Strawberry Trompe l'oeil recipe, start by preparing all the ingredients for the melting strawberry centre.

Place the saucepan containing the strawberry purée on the hob and add half of the caster sugar.

The other half of the sugar will be mixed with the NH nappage pectin.

Heat very gently while mixing with a whisk. Here, I am using strawberry purée that I had previously frozen into small portions for later use, to avoid waste. A handy tip to remember!

When the purée is completely melted and/or the preparation reaches about 50°C...

...incorporate the sugar and pectin mixture while whisking with the whisk. Pectin must always be added combined with sugar to prevent lumps from forming.

Mix well and bring to a boil. Maintain this boil for at least 1 minute to activate the properties of the pectin.

After cooking, remove the saucepan from the heat and add the lemon juice. Mix thoroughly.

Transfer the preparation into a funnel.

Fill the cavities of a half-sphere silicone mould Ø 3cm with the strawberry preparation.

Smooth the surface using a cranked metal spatula and cover with cling film directly on the surface.

This is what the result should look like. Place in the freezer. This preparation can be made in advance and kept in the freezer.

Intense strawberry confit: Prepare all the ingredients.

Slice the strawberries on a mandoline to a thickness of about 4 to 5 mm...

...to obtain this result.

Cut the strawberry slices into sticks of the same width, then into small cubes, trying to keep the cubes regular.

Add the diced strawberries to the strawberry purée in a saucepan.

Add half of the caster sugar.

The other half of the sugar will be mixed with the NH nappage pectin.

Heat the mixture of strawberry purée and fresh strawberries.

When the preparation reaches about 50°C, add the sugar and pectin mixture while whisking (pectin must always be incorporated combined with sugar to prevent lumps from forming).
Mix and bring to a boil. Maintain this boil for 1 minute to activate the properties of the pectin.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the lemon juice. Mix again.

Transfer this intense strawberry confit into a piping bag (no nozzle).

Fill the cavities of a second half-sphere silicone mould Ø 3cm.

Smooth the surface with the cranked spatula and set aside.

Take the melting strawberry half-spheres out of the freezer and remove the cling film.

Release them carefully...

...and place them directly in contact with the freshly made intense strawberry confit half-spheres...

...so that the two half-spheres are assembled to form a single sphere with two textures. Place in the freezer.

Strawberry/basil mousse: Prepare all the ingredients. Mix the powdered gelatine with the hydration water (tap or mineral water) and let it hydrate for 15 minutes.

Melt the strawberry purée in a saucepan over low heat. I used leftover portions of frozen strawberry purée from a previous recipe.

Add 2 sprigs of basil, or more according to your taste...

...and bring to a boil.

Add the hydrated gelatine mass...

...and mix with a hand blender.

Cover the saucepan with cling film and let it infuse for at least 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove the cling film...

...and pass the strawberry/basil purée through a sieve to filter it and retain the basil residues.

The basil/strawberry purée is ready.

To make the mousse, pour the whipping cream into the stand mixer bowl. It must be very cold.

Beat the cream until you get a soft whipped cream.

When the strawberry purée reaches about 28°C...

...add half of the whipped cream and mix quickly with a whisk, without needing to be particularly gentle...

...until the preparation is smooth and homogeneous.

Add the remaining whipped cream...

...and fold it in gently using a maryse spatula.

The strawberry/basil mousse is ready.

Pour this preparation into a piping bag (no nozzle).

Rosé champagne mousse: Prepare all the ingredients. Hydrate the powdered gelatine with the hydration water for 15 minutes.

Pour the rosé champagne into a saucepan and heat it.

In a separate bowl, pour the egg yolks and add the caster sugar.

Blanch the preparation until pale.

When the champagne is hot (avoid boiling), pour it over the egg yolk and sugar mixture.

Whisk until homogeneous.

Transfer the preparation back into the saucepan used to heat the champagne.

Cook the preparation 'à la nappe'. Make sure the temperature doesn't exceed 82°C, while stirring continuously over medium heat and making 8-shaped motions at the bottom of the pan...

...until the egg yolks slightly coagulate. This yields a thicker texture that coats the back of a spoon and is free of lumps. Make sure the preparation doesn't turn into scrambled eggs.

Once the preparation is cooked, remove the saucepan from the heat and add the hydrated gelatine mass. Mix vigorously.

Pour the preparation into a food container for faster cooling.

Meanwhile, beat the very cold whipping cream...

...into a soft whipped cream.

Transfer the champagne preparation into a mixing bowl. It must be at room temperature.

Add half of the whipped cream...

...and mix quickly with a whisk.

Add the remaining whipped cream...

...and fold it in gently with the maryse spatula.

Transfer the rosé champagne mousse into a piping bag. Set aside.

Assembly: Take the strawberry silicone mould and remove the strawberry spheres from the freezer.

Fill the cavities of the mould halfway with the strawberry/basil mousse.

Place a frozen sphere in the centre of each cavity, burying it into the mousse...

...as shown in the photo.

Fill the remaining empty space with the champagne mousse.

Bring the rosé champagne mousse up the sides of the cavities using a mini spatula.

Cover with cling film directly on the surface. There should be a gap at the top of each cavity (for the almond/yuzu crunch).

Almond/yuzu crunch: Prepare all the ingredients.

Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in 20 to 30-second intervals, mixing every time to prevent burning. Then pour the melted white chocolate over the almond/yuzu praline.

Mix well until homogeneous.

Add the speculoos crumbs...

...and mix thoroughly.

Add the fleur de sel last...

...and mix again.

Take the entremets out of the freezer. They must be frozen through. Remove the cling film and fill the remaining spaces in each cavity with this almond/yuzu crunch.

Spread a generous layer to completely fill the remaining space. The crunch should be level with the rim of the mould. If the preparation overflows slightly from the cavity, it does not matter. You can trim the edges later when unmoulding.

Cover with cling film directly on the surface and return to the freezer. This recipe can be made in advance and kept for several days or weeks in the freezer until needed.

Finish: Once the entremets are frozen through, extract them from the silicone mould by pulling the edges, then pressing gently from underneath...

...and release the strawberries from the mould.

Place the trompe-l'oeil strawberries on a baking tray covered with cling film.
This tray will also be set on a turntable to facilitate the spraying process.

Shaking the red velvet spray well until you hear the ball rattle inside—indicating that the mixture is homogeneous—, then spray it onto the strawberries from a distance of 20 to 30 cm, rotating the tray to easily reach all sides of the fruit.

Once the strawberries are coated, transfer them to a serving dish and let them thaw in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours before serving. Enjoy!