Kirsten Tibballs’ strawberry trifle with white chocolate mousse

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Kirsten Tibballs’ strawberry trifle with white chocolate mousse

“Enter a world of strawberry syrup-soaked sponge, seductively sweet white chocolate mousse and an abundance of fresh summery strawberries. The beauty of this knockout trifle comes from the varying shapes and sizes of the fresh strawberry slices. The best part is not aiming for perfect uniformity, which makes this simply stunning effect very easy to create.”

Ingredients

  • 500g strawberries of varying sizes, plus 125g extra, cut into wedges
  • 300g savoiardi (ladyfinger) biscuits
  • 100g milk chocolate, to grate
  • 200ml double cream

Strawberry Soak

  • 500g strawberries, chopped
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

White Chocolate Mousse

  • 600ml thickened cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 380g white chocolate, finely chopped
  • 400ml double cream

                Method

                1. To make the strawberry soak, place all ingredients in a heatproof glass bowl with 2 1/2 tbs water. Place the bowl on top of a saucepan of simmering water for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain the syrup from the strawberries, then discard the strawberries. Set the syrup aside at room temperature.
                2. To prepare the dish, slice the strawberries crossways into 5mm rounds. Arrange the sliced strawberries around the inside of a 20cm glass trifle dish, until they reach approximately 3cm from the top. Chop the remaining strawberry slices and reserve them for the trifle assembly.
                3. For the white chocolate mousse, combine the thickened cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and incorporated. Place the ganache in the fridge for 20-30 minutes, stirring regularly until cool to the touch and thickened. Transfer the cooled ganache to a larger bowl and add the double cream, one-third at a time, whisking it through. This mixture needs to be used immediately after the double cream is added.
                4. To assemble trifle, one at a time, dip the sponge fingers into the strawberry soak (see note) and arrange them in two even layers over the base of the trifle dish. Sprinkle half of the reserved chopped strawberries over the soaked sponge layer. Spoon half of the chocolate mousse into the dish, then place the trifle in the fridge for 20-30 minutes or until it has started to set slightly.
                5. Grate some milk chocolate over mousse layer. Repeat with another layer of soaked sponge fingers, chopped strawberries and mousse. Chill in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours, preferably overnight.
                6. Before serving, warm a spoon slightly with hot water and scoop the double cream straight from the tub – it should hold its shape – onto the surface of the trifle.
                7. Just before serving, scatter the extra strawberry wedges on top of the cream.

                Recipe by Kirsten Tiballs