White Chocolate Mousse with Strawberries & Pistachios

Ingredients

• 10 oz quality white chocolate, chopped into very small pieces, such as Ghirardelli or Lindt
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
• Seeds of 1 vanilla bean
• 1 tsp light corn syrup
• 1 lb fresh strawberries, diced
• 3 Tbsp chopped pistachios or 6 Tbsp crushed pretzels

Directions

1. Add the chopped white chocolate to a heatproof mixing bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm 1/2 cup heavy cream with the vanilla bean seeds until the cream just starts to softly bubble. Take the pan off the heat and pour the cream over the white chocolate, scraping any extra vanilla seeds from the saucepan into the bowl. Whisk until the chocolate is completely melted, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
2. After 2 hours, pour the remaining 1 cup heavy cream into another mixing bowl. Using an electric hand mixer on high speed, beat it until soft peaks form. Add the corn syrup and continue beating until the peaks are stiff. Take the white chocolate mixture out of the refrigerator and fold in the whipped cream. If you want the mousse a little fluffier and slightly more stable, beat the mixture for about 30 seconds on low speed.
3. To build the mousse cups, divide the strawberries among 6 cups. Spoon or pipe the white chocolate mousse over the strawberries. Right before serving, scatter pistachios or pretzels over the tops. For the best texture, serve within 3 hours.