Description
Delight in these festive Santa Claus Dome Cakes featuring a light vanilla mousse encasing fresh strawberries atop a buttery sablé cookie base, all glazed with a vibrant red mirror finish and adorned with delicate white chocolate decorations. Perfect for holiday celebrations, these elegant individual desserts combine creamy textures and crisp elements with stunning visual appeal.
Ingredients
Scale
Vanilla Mousse
- 300 ml heavy cream (cold)
- 250 ml whole milk
- 1 vanilla bean or 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 egg yolks
- 80 g granulated sugar
- 6 g powdered gelatin (about 2 tsp) + 30 ml cold water
- 6–8 fresh strawberries (small, stem removed)
Sablé Cookie Base
- 120 g unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 80 g powdered sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Red Mirror Glaze
- 150 g sugar
- 150 g glucose syrup
- 75 ml water
- 100 g sweetened condensed milk
- 150 g white chocolate (finely chopped)
- 10 g powdered gelatin + 60 ml water
- Red gel food coloring
Decorations
- 100 g white chocolate for the ring and ball
Instructions
- Bloom the Gelatin for the Mousse: Combine 6 g powdered gelatin with 30 ml cold water in a small bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes until fully bloomed, ensuring it will dissolve smoothly later in the mousse preparation.
- Heat the Milk and Infuse Vanilla: In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the whole milk with either a split vanilla bean or vanilla extract. Heat until warm but not boiling, then remove from heat to allow the flavors to infuse.
- Prepare the Egg Yolk Mixture: In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks and granulated sugar until the mixture becomes pale and thickened, laying the base for the custard.
- Cook the Custard Base: Gradually whisk the warm vanilla milk into the egg yolk mixture, then transfer the blend back to the saucepan. Cook gently over low heat, stirring continuously until the mixture thickens and reaches 82°C (180°F), without curdling.
- Incorporate Gelatin and Cool: Remove the custard from heat, immediately stir in the bloomed gelatin until completely dissolved, then cool the custard to room temperature to prepare for folding in cream.
- Fold in Whipped Cream: Whip the cold heavy cream to soft peaks, then gently fold it into the cooled custard base until smooth and homogeneous, creating the light vanilla mousse.
- Fill Molds with Mousse and Strawberries: Spoon a small layer of mousse into silicone dome molds, press a whole strawberry into each center, then cover with more mousse to fill the mold. Smooth the surface to prepare for freezing.
- Freeze the Mousse Domes: Place the filled molds in the freezer overnight or until the mousse is completely solidified for easier glazing later.
- Make the Sablé Cookie Dough: Cream together the butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract, then mix in the flour and salt until a dough forms, combining the sablé cookie components.
- Roll and Chill the Dough: Roll the dough between parchment paper to 4 mm thickness, then chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up for baking.
- Bake the Cookie Bases: Cut dough rounds slightly larger than the dome molds, place on parchment-lined baking sheets, and bake at 170°C (340°F) for 12–14 minutes until lightly golden. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Bloom the Gelatin for the Glaze: Combine 10 g powdered gelatin with 60 ml water in a small bowl and let it bloom for 10 minutes, prepping it for the mirror glaze.
- Heat Syrup Base for Glaze: In a saucepan, bring sugar, glucose syrup, and water to a boil and cook until the temperature reaches 103°C (217°F), creating the syrup base.
- Finish the Glaze: Remove the syrup from heat, stir in sweetened condensed milk and the bloomed gelatin until fully dissolved. Immediately pour over the chopped white chocolate and let it rest for 1 minute.
- Blend and Color the Glaze: Use an immersion blender to mix the glaze until smooth. Add red gel food coloring gradually until a vibrant Santa hat red is achieved. Allow the glaze to cool to 32–35°C (90–95°F) before application.
- Glaze the Frozen Mousse Domes: Remove the mousse domes from the molds and place on a rack. Pour the cooled red mirror glaze evenly over each dome to coat thoroughly, then set aside to allow the glaze to firm.
- Prepare Decorations: Melt and temper the 100 g of white chocolate; use it to pipe or mold decorative rings and balls resembling Santa’s hat embellishments to adorn the domes once the glaze is set.
- Assemble and Serve: Place each glazed mousse dome onto a sablé cookie base, top with the white chocolate decorations, and serve chilled for a stunning holiday dessert presentation.
Notes
- Ensure the mousse is completely frozen before glazing to avoid melting and achieve a smooth mirror finish.
- Use fresh, firm strawberries to maintain shape inside the mousse domes.
- Tempering the white chocolate decorations will help them hold shape and have a glossy finish.
- The red mirror glaze temperature is crucial; pour too hot and it will melt the mousse, too cold and it won’t coat properly.
- The sablé cookie base can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container for a few days.
- For a more intense vanilla flavor, use a fresh vanilla bean instead of extract.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 dome
- Calories: 450 kcal
- Sugar: 38 g
- Sodium: 80 mg
- Fat: 28 g
- Saturated Fat: 17 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 42 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 140 mg
