# Any idea why the layers on my mousse split?



## dave.reaburn (Jul 25, 2012)

Great forum! 

I made this recipe last night for a fluffy strawberry mousse:

150g strawberries
2 egg whites
½ a small lemon, juiced
caster sugar (120g)
glug of double cream (60ml)

blend 150g of strawberries in a blender with the juice of the lemon and sugar.
whip the cream to soft peaks in one bowl and do the same with the egg whites in another clean bowl.
fold the strawberry purée into the cream until it is no longer marbled.
spoon half of the egg whites into the strawberry cream and fold together, maintaining as much air as possible.
add the rest of the egg whites into the mix and fold again before dividing between your serving glasses & refrigerating. 


however after an hour in the fridge, there was a liquid strawberry layer under the foamy top layer like part of it had separated. The foamy top layer was still delicious though

i'm wondering

 - too much strawberry puree to egg/cream mixture?
 - didn't fold enough or too much? 
 - didn't beat egg whites enough or too much?

Can anyone help me with suggestions why this happened? I need this to stay together as I plan to use the mixture to fill chocolate cigars & i don't want it to start liquidising 

dave


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## merstar (Jul 26, 2012)

It sounds like there's too much strawberry puree in proportion to the heavy cream and egg whites - I'd add more heavy cream to hold it together, and whip the cream until stiff, not soft peaks form. 
Another idea is to add some gelatin to maintain texture. http://joyofdesserts.blogspot.com/2011/05/strawberry-mousse-recipe.html


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## TATTRAT (Jul 26, 2012)

Welcome to DC


+1 on the gelatin, you need something to stabilize the extra moisture in the puree.


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## buckytom (Jul 26, 2012)

because mrs. mousse thought he was a drag..


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## Kylie1969 (Jul 26, 2012)

Welcome to DC Dave


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## dave.reaburn (Jul 26, 2012)

Cool thanks. i'll give the gelatin a shot. I'll also try with more cream as 60ml doesn't seem like enough to me.


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## CWS4322 (Jul 26, 2012)

Welcome to DC. I would use the gelatin. Also, be careful when folding the cream in. Here's a link to a site that gives a pretty good explanation of how to fold ingredients in without killing the volume.

How To Fold In Cream Cheese For Baking | LIVESTRONG.COM


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