Description
Santa Claus Dome Cakes are delightful individual desserts featuring creamy vanilla mousse spheres with a fresh strawberry center, set atop crisp sablé cookie bases and finished with a shiny red mirror glaze and elegant white chocolate decorations. Perfect for festive celebrations, these elegant dome-shaped treats combine smooth textures and bright holiday colors in every bite.
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.
- Heat the Milk and Infuse Vanilla: In a saucepan, heat the whole milk and vanilla (bean or extract) over medium heat until warm but not boiling. Remove from heat once warmed through.
- Prepare the Egg Yolk Mixture: In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar until pale and slightly thickened.
- Cook the Custard Base: Slowly pour the warm milk over the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring gently, until it reaches 82°C (180°F) and thickens slightly.
- Incorporate Gelatin and Cool: Remove the custard from heat, stir in the bloomed gelatin until fully dissolved, and let cool to room temperature.
- Fold in Whipped Cream: Whip the cold heavy cream to soft peaks, then gently fold it into the cooled custard base until smooth and fully combined.
- Fill Molds with Mousse and Strawberries: Spoon a small amount of mousse into each silicone dome mold, press one whole strawberry into the center, and cover with additional mousse until the mold is filled. Smooth the tops.
- Freeze the Mousse Domes: Transfer the molds to the freezer and freeze overnight until completely solid.
- Make the Sablé Cookie Dough: Cream the butter and powdered sugar together in a bowl until smooth. Add the egg yolk and vanilla, then mix in the flour and salt until a dough forms.
- Roll and Chill the Dough: Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to a 4 mm thickness. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Bake the Cookie Bases: Cut rounds slightly larger than your dome molds and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake at 170°C (340°F) for 12–14 minutes until lightly golden. Cool completely.
- Bloom the Gelatin for the Glaze: In a small bowl, combine 10 g powdered gelatin with 60 ml water and let bloom for 10 minutes.
- Heat Syrup Base for Glaze: In a saucepan, bring sugar, glucose syrup, and water to a boil and cook until it reaches 103°C (217°F).
- Finish the Glaze: Remove the syrup from heat and stir in sweetened condensed milk and the bloomed gelatin until fully dissolved. Pour over chopped white chocolate and let sit for 1 minute.
- Blend and Color the Glaze: Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture until smooth. Add red gel food coloring until it reaches a bright Santa hat red. Let cool to 32–35°C (90–95°F) before using.
- Glaze the Frozen Mousse Domes: Remove the mousse domes from molds and quickly pour the cooled mirror glaze over them to coat evenly. Let glaze set.
- Assemble and Decorate: Place each glazed dome onto a sablé cookie base. Melt white chocolate and pipe or sculpt rings and small balls to decorate as festive accents on top of the domes.
Notes
- Make sure to fully bloom gelatin to avoid lumps in the mousse and glaze.
- The mousse domes must be fully frozen before glazing to get a smooth mirror finish.
- Use silicone molds for easy unmolding of mousse domes.
- Rolling dough between parchment paper prevents sticking and makes handling easier.
- Color the mirror glaze gradually until desired bright red is achieved for a vibrant Santa look.
- Use fresh, small strawberries for best presentation inside the mousse.
- Chilling the sablé dough before baking ensures crisp cookies with good structure.
- For best results, serve the domes slightly chilled but not frozen solid after glazing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 dome
- Calories: 420 kcal
- Sugar: 35 g
- Sodium: 70 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 15 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg
