Strawberry Delights

To prepare the strawberry delights, whip the egg whites (which should be at room temperature) with a mixer, and when they start to turn white, add one-third of 150 g of sugar, let it whip for a minute, then add another third of the sugar, and the final third after another minute 1. Whip the egg yolks with the other half of the sugar for at least 7-8 minutes 2; when both mixtures are ready, gently mix them together in a large bowl with care not to deflate them 3.

Add the sifted flour into the bowl 4 and the zest of a Sorrento lemon 5, place the mixture into a pastry bag and then squeeze it into semi-sphere molds with a diameter of 3 inches 6.

Bake in a preheated static oven at 356°F for about 20 minutes, then remove the semi-spheres, let them cool slightly, extract them from the molds, and let them cool completely on a wire rack 7. Soak the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water for at least 10-15 minutes 8. Prepare the strawberry cream by blending the strawberries 9 and straining them: you should obtain about 7 oz of strawberry puree.

Place the sugar, strawberry puree 10, and syrup 11 (or strawberry liqueur if you prefer) in a saucepan and dissolve the sugar over low heat. Beat the egg yolks with a whisk 12 to break them.

and then pour the strawberry syrup over them, beating constantly 13; place everything in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then add the butter in pieces 14, stir for 2 minutes, then add the well-drained gelatin sheets 15, stir for a few seconds, and remove from heat.

Pour the obtained cream into a wide and shallow bowl, cover it with plastic wrap directly on the cream: place it in the refrigerator to cool 16. If the cream is too firm when removed from the fridge, blend it with a mixer to make it smooth and soft again. Whip the cream 17 and fold it into the strawberry cream 18: if there are lumps, strain everything through a sieve (do not worry, the cream will remain light, dense, and consistent) pressing down with a silicone spatula.

Prepare the syrup to soak the delights by dissolving the sugar with water over heat and adding the chosen essence or liqueur to this syrup; let the syrup cool. Hollow out the delights in the center, lightly soak them with the syrup, and fill the cavities with strawberry cream 18, then plug the hole with a slice of sponge cake 20 taken from the base of the plug removed from each and place them on a wire rack. Thin the remaining cream with a few tablespoons of liquid cream or milk 21

and cover the spheres 22, letting the excess cream drip 23. At this point, decorate the strawberry delight with tufts of whipped cream 34 and wild strawberries as desired. Place the strawberry delights in the fridge until ready to serve.