Strawberry Crème Fouette
Jean-Louis at the Watergate was a legendary place where the chef called “the Chef of the 20th Century” created a new menu every day, serving his small group of guests to perfection. This dessert is one of the sweets from that era, wedges of feuilles de Brigue, a thin dough found in Middle Eastern markets, filled with strawberry mousse and garnished with raspberry coulis. Jean-Louis used tiny, intensely-flavored wild strawberries; look for the sweetest, smallest berries you can find.
Ingredients
- Feuilles de Brigue - 4 (alt. 12 sheets phyllo dough)
- Unsalted Butter - 1/2 cup (1 stick), melted
- Granulated sugar for sprinkling
- Strawberry Mousse
- Water - 6 tablespoons
- Unflavored gelatin - 1 envelope
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 1 cup
- Strawberries - 2-1/2 cups, fresh, hulled
- Confectioner’s Sugar - 1/4 cup, sifted
- Raspberry Coulis
- Raspberries - 2 cups, fresh
- Confectioner’s Sugar - 1/4 cup, sifted
- Water - 2 tablespoons
- Garnish
- Wild Strawberries - 3 to 4 cups, red and yellow, fresh, hulled
- Confectioner’s Sugar - Sifted, for dusting
- Mint sprigs - 4
Instructions
To make the pastry: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Cut each feuille into eight equal pie shapes and place the triangles on the parchment paper. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool. Or, substitute phyllo dough: Preheat the oven to 375 F. Lay four sheets of phyllo on the prepared pan. Lightly brush the phyllo with melted butter. Repeat two more times, lightly sprinkling the top layer with sugar, and cut each stack into 8 triangles. Cover the pastry with another sheet of parchment or aluminum foil and set another baking sheet on top. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the top pan and paper or foil and let the pastries cool completely.
To make the strawberry mousse: Place 2 tablespoons of the water in a cup and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let stand for 3 minutes to dissolve. Stir the gelatin mixture into the cream and refrigerate until it begins to firm, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, puree the berries in a blender with the confectioner’s sugar and the remaining 4 tablespoons of water. Strain the puree through a fine-meshed sieve. Whip the firmed cream in an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, gradually adding the strawberry puree. Refrigerate if the mousse is not used immediately.
To make the raspberry coulis: Puree all the ingredients in a blender. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve. Set aside.
To serve: Transfer the mousse to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe a strip of mousse down the center of each plate. Stand eight wedges of pastry in a line in the mousse, points up. Alternate some of the berries between the pastries. Pour some of the raspberry coulis on each side of the mousse and place additional berries in the sauce. Dust confectioner’s sugar on top of the dessert and around the plates. Garnish each with mint.
For an alternate presentation, cut the feuille or phyllo into twelve circles with a scalloped cookie cutter instead of cutting it into triangles. Proceed with the baking. To assemble, place one pastry circle on the plate and pipe mousse into the center of the pastry. Surround the mousse with strawberries. Place another pastry circle on top of the mousse and press down gently. Repeat, ending with a circle. Dust the pastry and the plates with confectioner’s sugar. Pool raspberry coulis on the plate beside the pastry stacks and garnish with berries and mint.
