Mousse Petits Fours

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   First, make the cookie base for the petits fours. Grind the cookies into crumbs in a blender or food processor. Put the crumbs in a bowl.

2. Step 2:

   

   Melt the butter and add it to the bowl with the cookie crumbs.

3. Step 3:

   

   Mix the butter with the cookie crumbs.

4. Step 4:

   

   Now prepare the molds for the petits fours. Take a tray and set a metal ring mold 8 cm in diameter on it. Cut 6 strips of acetate (cake-collar) tape, 27 cm long and at least 5 cm wide. Roll a strip into a ring and place it inside the metal mold, aligning it to the shape. Cut two small pieces of clear tape and tape the acetate ring at the top and bottom so it doesn't unroll. Make the other 5 molds the same way.

5. Step 5:

   

   Put the same amount of cookie crumbs into each mold, about 1 tablespoon, and press them into a firm base 1 cm thick. Put the tray of molds in the fridge.

6. Step 6:

   

   Now make the berry mousse. The berry weight is approximate. We need about 240 g of berry purée for the mousse (some of the berry mass stays in the sieve when you strain it - seeds and skins - so depending on the berries you'll have more or less waste, and may need more or fewer berries). Wash the berries; if you're using frozen ones, thaw them in advance.

7. Step 7:

   

   Put the berries and sugar in a blender. Blend until smooth.

8. Step 8:

   

   Strain the mixture through a sieve into a bowl. Discard the thick pulp left behind - we won't need it. We'll use the resulting berry purée (240-250 grams) for the mousse.

9. Step 9:

   

   Put the room-temperature cream cheese in a bowl and stir it lightly with a whisk or spatula.

10. Step 10:

    

    Add the powdered sugar and mix well.

11. Step 11:

    

    Pour the cream into a bowl and beat it with a mixer on high speed to soft peaks.

12. Step 12:

    

    Add the whipped cream to the bowl with the cream cheese.

13. Step 13:

    

    Mix until smooth.

14. Step 14:

    

    Take the bloomed gelatin out of the water and squeeze it. Put the gelatin in a small bowl and microwave it for 10-30 seconds to melt it to a liquid. Then cool the gelatin to 40-45°C (104-113°F), add half of it to the cream mixture, and mix well.

15. Step 15:

    

    Add the remaining gelatin to the berry purée and mix well.

16. Step 16:

    

    Divide the cream mixture equally among three bowls.

17. Step 17:

    

    Then add a different amount of berry purée to each bowl: 120 g to one, 80 g to another, and 40 g to the third. The different amounts give us mousse in three shades.

18. Step 18:

    

    Mix each until evenly colored. This gives us mousse in three shades.

19. Step 19:

    

    Take the tray of molds out of the fridge. Spoon the darkest mousse into the molds, about 2 tablespoons each. Freeze for 20 minutes to firm up the mousse. Then take out the tray and spoon the medium shade on top. Freeze again for 20 minutes. Then take out the tray and spoon in the remaining light shade. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

20. Step 20:

    

    Remove the finished petits fours from the molds, peeling off the acetate tape. If a dessert is hard to unmold, gently run a knife along the edge to separate it from the tape, then peel the tape off. Decorate the finished petits fours however you like. I decorated mine with a dollop of whipped cream, fresh berries, and little meringues.