Gratin of Strawberries
Submitted by ltdup
An elegant French strawberry chibouste-style dessert: pastry cream lightened with Italian meringue, set with gelatin, molded against fresh strawberries over a thin genoise base. A patisserie classic at home.
YIELD
10 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
10 minREADY
1 hrsClassic French patisserie technique scaled to your kitchen. This gratin is essentially a strawberry chibouste, where rich pastry cream gets folded with airy Italian meringue and stabilized with a touch of gelatin. The result sits somewhere between a mousse and a soufflé, light enough to spoon yet structured enough to unmold cleanly.
The technique demands precision more than skill. Cook the sugar syrup to the soft-ball stage (around 250°F / 121°C) and stream it slowly into whipping egg whites for a glossy, marshmallowy meringue. Bloom and dissolve the gelatin into hot pastry cream so it sets evenly. Move quickly once you fold the two together because the cream firms fast.
The halved strawberries lining each mold create a stained-glass effect when unmolded, with the thin genoise sponge anchoring the base.
Chef Tips
- Use a candy thermometer for the syrup. Eyeballing the soft-ball stage is how meringue collapses or stays raw and goopy.
- Bloom powdered gelatin in cool water first, then dissolve it into the warm pastry cream off the heat. Direct heat above 140°F (60°C) weakens its setting power.
- Choose strawberries roughly the same size for an even, snug ring around each mold.
- Run a hot, dry knife around the inside edge of each mold before unmolding. The thin film of melted juice releases the dessert without tearing.
- A blowtorch flash on the sugared tops gives a true gratin caramelization, though a hot broiler works in a pinch.
Variations
- Swap strawberries for ripe raspberries or thinly sliced peaches in summer.
- Layer in a thin smear of strawberry preserves between the genoise and the mousse for extra fruit punch.
- Build as one large mold instead of ten individual portions for a centerpiece dessert.
Ingredients
Directions
Remove the stems from the strawberries and slice them in half.
Slice the genoise into very thin pieces to fit in the bottom of 10 molds, 3 to 4 inches in diameter.
Line the molds with sliced strawberries, cut side facing outward.
In a saucepan, heat the sugar and water to a 250 degree softball.
Meanwhile, place the egg whites in the bowl of a mixer and whip them to medium peaks.
In a metal bowl, whip together the pastry creams over boiling water.
When the cream is quite hot, take it off the hat, slowly dissolve the powdered gelatin in the cream.
When the softball of sugar is formed, add to the egg whites while still whipping on mixer.
Continue whipping until firm. Add this cream to the pastry creams then spoon the mixture into the center of the molds.
Chill at least one hour.
To serve, unmold and sprinkle tops of molds with a tiny bit of sugar.
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