Description
These Santa Claus Dome Cakes are a delightful festive dessert featuring creamy vanilla mousse with fresh strawberries encased in a vibrant red mirror glaze on a buttery sablé cookie base. Perfect for holiday celebrations, each dome presents a luxurious blend of smooth textures and striking colors that capture the magic of Christmas.
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 sit for 10 minutes until fully bloomed to prepare it for incorporation into the mousse.
- Heat the milk and infuse vanilla: In a saucepan, warm the whole milk and vanilla bean or extract over medium heat until hot but not boiling, then remove from heat to extract the vanilla flavor.
- Prepare the egg yolk mixture: In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until the mixture is pale and slightly thickened, forming the base for the custard.
- Cook the custard base: Gradually pour the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture while whisking to temper the eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring gently, until it reaches 82°C (180°F) and thickens lightly.
- Incorporate gelatin and cool: Remove the custard from heat, stir in the bloomed gelatin until completely dissolved, then allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
- Fold in whipped cream: Whip the cold heavy cream to soft peaks and gently fold it into the cooled custard base until smooth and uniform to create a light mousse.
- Fill molds with mousse and strawberries: Spoon a small amount of mousse into each silicone dome mold, place one whole strawberry in the center, then cover with more mousse until the mold is filled and smooth the tops evenly.
- Freeze the mousse domes: Place the filled molds in the freezer and let them freeze overnight until solidified for easy 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 to form a dough.
- Roll and chill the dough: Roll the dough out between parchment papers to a thickness of 4 mm, then chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Bake the cookie bases: Cut rounds slightly larger than the dome molds from the dough and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 170°C (340°F) for 12–14 minutes until lightly golden, then cool completely.
- Bloom the gelatin for the glaze: Combine 10 g powdered gelatin with 60 ml water in a small bowl and let sit for 10 minutes until fully bloomed.
- Heat syrup base for glaze: In a saucepan, bring the sugar, glucose syrup, and water to a boil and cook until it reaches 103°C (217°F).
- Finish the glaze: Remove syrup from heat; stir in sweetened condensed milk and the bloomed gelatin until fully dissolved. Pour mixture over chopped white chocolate and let sit for 1 minute.
- Blend and color the glaze: Use an immersion blender to blend the glaze until smooth. Add red gel food coloring until achieving bright Santa hat red. Cool to 32–35°C (90–95°F) before using.
Notes
- Ensure the milk is warm, not boiling, to prevent curdling when mixing with egg yolks.
- Folding the whipped cream gently into the custard maintains the mousse’s light texture.
- Freezing the mousse domes overnight helps achieve a smooth finish when glazing.
- The sablé cookie base adds a buttery, crisp contrast to the creamy mousse.
- Use an immersion blender carefully to avoid incorporating air bubbles into the mirror glaze.
- The glaze temperature must be right for proper coverage without melting the mousse.
- You can prepare the decorations ahead of time with white chocolate to add festive touches.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 dome (approximately 150 g)
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 30 g
- Sodium: 90 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 15 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 120 mg
