Ingredients :

• Mascarpone — This is the base of the cream, and it must be very cold — taken out of the refrigerator at the last second. Lukewarm mascarpone won’t whip correctly and you’ll end up with a runny cream. Get the full-fat version, not light. The light version doesn’t have enough fat to hold its shape.
• Fresh strawberries — Choose strawberries that actually smell of something. If you put your nose to the punnet and nothing happens, move on. Gariguettes are ideal in season — small, fragrant, slightly tart. Off-season, thawed and well-drained frozen strawberries can work, but the texture will be softer.
• Sablés Bretons (French salt butter cookies) — Not ‘petit beurres’, not digestive biscuits. Specifically Sablé Breton, because it is thicker, more buttery, and resists the cream’s moisture better. You can find them easily in supermarkets. After a few minutes in the verrines, they start to soak up the juices — this is intentional, but don’t assemble the glasses too far in advance.
• Heavy liquid cream — Full-fat is mandatory, minimum 30% fat content. Light cream will not whip. And like the mascarpone, it must be cold. If you want to go faster, put your bowl and whisk attachments in the freezer ten minutes before.