For when you want a special dessert, this light mascarpone mousse combines perfectly with juicy fresh strawberries, which in turn are paired with a dense chocolate and hazelnut cream.

This dessert can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator, but I must warn you that with the cold, the hazelnut cream can lose its creaminess and become solid. My suggestion is to prepare the mousse with the strawberries and at the time of serving add the hazelnut cream and the other elements of the topping, or else leave everything ready and remove it from the refrigerator ahead of time and let it reach room temperature.

The ingredients

• Mascarpone cheese and cream - these are the two main ingredients of the mousse (along with sugar) and which will incorporate air and produce a light and creamy mousse.
• Sugar - it will be necessary to sweeten the mousse, but also the strawberries; as I used this sugar with stevia blend, only 2 tablespoons are needed; I also added 1 teaspoon of this sugar to the strawberries.
• Strawberries - originally the fruit used was raspberry, but I decided to change and also increase the quantity so that the dessert had more fruit. It can be used fresh or frozen, but if frozen, thaw for a few minutes and then cut into pieces.
• Hazelnut and chocolate cream - as you may have noticed, in the recipe I mention hazelnut cream and not the famous trademark (Nutella®), simply because it is not the cream I buy, preferring to use a healthier one. This one from Naturefoods was the one I used, and there are other brands on the market, even sugar-free and also with a higher percentage of hazelnuts, but if you want to make this dessert even more special, I suggest this Lindt chocolate cream.
• Hazelnuts and hazelnut cream wafers - are optional toppings; the hazelnuts may or may not be toasted (I didn’t, I just served halved), and the wafers may be hazelnut or chocolate filled or may even be replaced by another type of cookie to taste.

How to do

• Start by washing and arranging the strawberries, then cut them into small pieces into a bowl.
• If you want you can sweeten the strawberries a little, and reserve. In another bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with the sugar and cream, and reserve.
• We choose the containers (cups or bowls) where we are going to serve. Of the total amount of strawberries in pieces, half is removed and divided by the bottom of each container.
• Then the mascarpone mousse is distributed over all glasses/cups. The remaining strawberries are distributed over the mousse.
• Finally, everything is covered with the topping elements: hazelnut cream, wafers, hazelnuts, and some strawberries (in pieces or slices).
• It should be noted that not all hazelnut creams have the same texture, some of which are thicker and need to be heated to be a little more liquid.

Mascarpone mousse with strawberries, hazelnut cream and wafers recipe

Ingredients

125 gr mascarpone
200 ml of cream
4 tablespoons of sugar
300 gr of strawberries
150 gr of chocolate hazelnut cream

Topping
Chocolate or hazelnut wafer cookies
Hazelnuts in pieces
Strawberries

1. Cut the strawberries into small pieces, and set them aside.
2. In a bowl, beat the mascarpone with the sugar and cream.
3. Distribute some strawberries (about half the amount), through the cups or serving bowls.
4. Cover the strawberries with the mascarpone mousse.
5. Distribute the remaining strawberries on top of the mousse.
6. Then pour the hazelnut cream over the strawberries.
7. To finish, decorate with wafers, hazelnuts, and strawberries in pieces.