- Strawberries
- Agar
- Gelatine
- Bourbon Vanilla Pod
- Yogurt
- Whipping Cream
- Eggs
- Caster Sugar
- Butter
- Self-Raising Flour
- With more fruits available to me at this time of year in comparison with the first heat of the competition, strawberries became my immediate choice. Coming into season at the beginning of June means the first few crops of strawberries are going to be rich and flavoursome. Willington fruit farm growers based in Cheshire produce some of Britain’s finest strawberries. Strawberry is the primary flavour of my dessert, but proving different textures can really change how it can taste, and this is what I want to achieve with my dessert.
- Forshaw’s dairy is well established in Longridge and has been supplying dairy to the catering trade for many years. Actually using it at work, you can see the consistency and quality of the product day in day out, which was one of the determining factors behind my choice to use them.
- The creaminess of the yoghurt helps contrast the natural sharpness of the strawberries and heighten their flavour, but it also works in the opposite direction, bringing out the deep flavour of the yoghurt.
- I decided to add shortcake for texture as all of the elements to the dessert are primarily soft.
Textures of Strawberry, Shortcake and Yogurt Mousse
Textures of Strawberry, Shortcake and Yogurt Mousse
Dessert made by Lewis Gallagher during the 2011 North West Young Chef Final/
Ingredients
Method
Strawberry Puree
500g Strawberries
60g Caster Sugar
Half a lemon, Juiced
Method:
De-hull the strawberries, blitz with sugar until completely smooth, add lemon juice if required
Pass through fine chinois
Strawberry Fluid Gel
400g Strawberry Puree
4g Agar-Agar
Method:
Add agar to puree and heat to near boiling point to cook out
When fully dissolved pass and set up in the fridge
When set blitz up until completely smooth and light
Strawberry Crisp
300g Strawberry Puree
80g Icing Sugar
Method:
Blitz puree with icing sugar until completely smooth and pass
Lay out thin layer out silpat and bake at 70 degrees for about an hour
Shortcake
175g Unsalted Butter
65g Caster Sugar
275g Self-Raising Flour
50ml Crème De Fraise
Method:
Cream the butter and sugar until light, mix in liqueur
Fold in the Flour as to not knock any air out of it, until it’s like a biscuit
Smooth out onto silpat and p***k the surface, bake at 170 degrees until golden
Yoghurt Mousse
110g Yoghurt
170g Whipping Cream
50g Caster Sugar
1 Bourbon Vanilla Pod
1 and a half Leaves Gelatine
Method:
Soak gelatine and dissolve over bain-marie
Whip up cream with the vanilla pod, adding sugar a bit at a time until peaking
Blend yoghurt with dissolved gelatine and fold into cream until smooth, set up in the fridge
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