If you’re looking for the perfect summer dessert – search no more! This strawberry mousse makes the perfect refreshing snack that also happens to be high in protein and low in fat. And most importantly – it’s delicious! My Mum used to make this years ago and I recently remembered it and instantly needed to make it myself. I’m obsessed!

Ingredients for high protein strawberry mousse

To make this dessert, you’ll need:

• 450g thick, high protein, low fat yoghurt – e.g. Skyr
• 250g fat-free Polish style curd cheese or quark cheese or cottage cheese
• strawberry flavoured jelly crystals that will make between 1 litre and 2 pints of jelly
• a handful of fresh strawberries
• 3 tablespoons of chocolate chips

How much jelly crystals do you need?

This depends on the brand you use. I used two sachets of Hartley’s crystals, which together make 2 pints of jelly. Whatever brand you buy, just check the instructions on the package and aim for an amount that yields between 1 litre and 2 pints of jelly (1000ml – 1130ml).

How to make high protein strawberry mousse

First, prepare strawberry jelly following the instructions on the package. You should end up with around 1 litre of jelly liquid.

Using a blender, mix yoghurt and curd/quark/cottage cheese together until they have a smooth texture.

Mix jelly liquid and blended yoghurt together in one bowl. Gently whisk them together with a hand whisk or a spatula.

No, there are two options.

Option 1 – for a thicker, jelly-like texture

You could end here and distribute the mixture between a few bowls. If you choose this option, the dessert will have a more jelly-resembling, wiggly texture. This is what my Mum used to make, actually.

Option 2 – for a mousse texture

Or, if you want your dessert to be light and fluffy, you can aerate the mixture with an electric whisk.

Note: the mixture is pretty much liquid at this point. If it’s in a bowl that’s almost full, do not attempt to put a whisk in it! It will splash strawberry yoghurt all over the counter and you’ll have a lot of cleaning to do… Don’t ask how I know that. So, make sure you have your mixture in a much larger container, or whisk it in smaller batches. Work the air into the mixture for a few minutes before gently pouring it into dessert bowls.

Garnish

Finally, finely chop up the fresh strawberries and chocolate chips and sprinkle each portion of the dessert. If you went with Option 1, the toppings will sink slightly. If you chose to make a mousse, the toppings will stay on top.

Refrigerate the dessert for at least 6 hours or overnight, for the jelly to set.

This recipe makes around 5 servings. Feel free to halve the ingredients if you want to make a smaller batch.

Do you need to use sugar-free jelly?

When my Mum made this dessert years ago, she used jelly crystals with added sugar. I don’t think sugar-free jelly was a thing in Polish supermarkets back then! I live in the UK now and the jelly crystals I found in the shop were sugar-free. Both versions work fine for this dessert, so use whichever you prefer.

Other fruit to use in this dessert

You don’t need to use strawberries. Feel free to experiment with your favourite flavours! I also love this mousse with raspberries and blueberries. However, remember that some fruits prevent jelly from setting. For example, pineapple, kiwi and papaya are a no-go in this dessert.

What cheese to use in this dessert

I used Polish-style curd cheese, which has a dry, crumbly texture. If you can’t find it, you can use quark cheese or cottage cheese. Or just use more thick yoghurt, that will work too. I’d recommend reducing the amount of water you use to make the jelly by 150ml if you’re not using curd cheese – yoghurt and cottage cheese bring extra moisture.

Also see:

• Food
• Sweet