White Chocolate and Lemon Mousse with Red Berry Compote Center

If there's a dessert that has it all, it's this recipe for white chocolate mousse with a red fruit center. Smooth, creamy and with a fruity touch that perfectly balances the sweetness of the chocolate. Best of all, it's very easy to make and the result is bakery-quality: a airy mousse that melts in your mouth, with a homemade compote that adds freshness and candied fruits that bring an irresistible crunch.

With Valentine's Day around the corner, this dessert becomes the perfect excuse to surprise someone (or to treat yourself without guilt!). Personally I love that light mousse texture, and here the combination with the red fruit compote adds a refreshing note.

The final touch is the candied fruits: while they are totally optional for the recipe, as they are decorative and simply add one more point of exquisiteness to the presentation and finishing, they also provide that unique crunchy sugar texture. As I said, this step is optional, but in the end you'll see how to do the step-by-step to get that sugar-coated fruit so mouthwatering.

It's the perfect dessert for a special dinner or simply to indulge yourself. Will you give it a try? Here's the step-by-step and also the recipe on video.

Ingredients

For the red fruit compote

• 200 g mixed frozen red fruits
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

For the mousse

• 300 g white chocolate in chips or chopped
• 90 ml + 375 ml whipping cream
• 3 tbsp powdered sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3 egg yolks from free-range hens (reserve 1 of the whites for the candied fruits)
• 1 tsp vanilla paste (or 1 dessert spoon of Madagascar vanilla extract)
• A pinch of salt

For the candied fruits

• 100 g (½ cup) powdered sugar
• 1 egg white from a free-range hen (the white reserved earlier)
• Red fruits and herbs to taste

Preparation

To make the red fruit compote

1. In a small saucepan, mix all the ingredients and stir well. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, until the mixture thickens slightly.
2. Remove from the heat and blend with an electric mixer until smooth.
3. Keep in the fridge until completely cooled before using.

Let's make the white chocolate mousse

1. Gently heat 90 ml of cream with the white chocolate. Add the vanilla paste and lemon zest.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the yolks with the sugar until the mixture is pale and frothy.
3. Slowly pour the hot chocolate mixture over the beaten yolks, stirring constantly until incorporated.
4. Whip the remaining 375 ml of cream until soft peaks form.
5. Add one spoonful of whipped cream to the chocolate mixture and stir well. Then fold in the rest in two additions, using gentle folding motions, until you achieve a homogeneous texture.

Assembling the mousse dessert

We're going to assemble it as a 3-layer mousse (mousse, compote and mousse). To do this:

1. Fill each Le Creuset ceramic ramekin halfway with the mousse.
2. Make a compote layer by adding a heaped spoonful of the red fruit compote in the center.
3. Cover the compote layer with the remaining mousse.
4. Chill in the fridge overnight so it sets well.

To make the sugar-coated fruit (for decoration)

1. Line a tray with baking paper.
2. Lightly beat the egg white in a bowl. In another bowl, place the sugar.
3. Using a brush, apply a thin layer of egg white over the surface of the red fruits. Then, immediately roll them in the sugar.
4. Place the fruits and herbs on the lined tray and repeat the process with the rest.
5. Let them dry in a warm, uncovered place until the sugar hardens.
6. Once dry, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not refrigerate to avoid them becoming damp.