These exquisite strawberry rhubarb & vanilla cheesecake mousse cups are the PERFECT summer treat! They’re so simple to make and pack easily into your picnic basket. Just don’t forget the spoons!
I usually make desserts in cups for picnics and beach days, but I made these particular desserts for a bachelorette party this time. My friends rented a big lake house in the Poconos for the weekend and we were all asked to bring a dessert.
Most desserts are pretty tricky to transport, and I didn’t want mine to have to travel on my lap in the car, so I just fit these cups into a small cooler with a few ice packs, popped them in the trunk and off I went!
How to Make This Recipe – Step by Step
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a mixing bowl, whisk together ½ cup sugar and 3 tbsp. tapioca.
2. Slice 2 cups of strawberries and 2 cups of rhubarb into half-inch slices. Add strawberries and rhubarb to the mixing bowl, and gently stir to coat in sugar and tapioca.
3. Pour into an 8″ square pyrex and bake for 25-30 minutes. Once done, gently mix once more, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. While strawberry-rhubarb cools, whip 1 cup heavy whipping cream in a blender for about 30 seconds, or until it appears to stop splashing. Add whipped cream to a clean mixing bowl.
5. With the whipped cream, add 12 oz. whipped cream cheese, 1½ tbsp. real vanilla extract and ½ cup condensed milk. Whip mixture on high with a hand mixer until thoroughly mixed. Refrigerate for 1 hour to set.
6. In a food processor, crumble 2 cups Nilla wafers (that’s 2 cups, once crumbled). You want them to be a tiny bit chunky, not fine. Add them to a mixing bowl with 4 tbsp. melted, salted butter. Stir until thoroughly mixed.
7. Once strawberry-rhubarb is cooled and the mousse is set, layer into glasses with the crumbles. Start with crumbles, using a kitchen tool to flatten them down (I used a lemon juicer, but you can use a spoon).
8. Then, simply layer strawberry-rhubarb, mousse, crumbles, strawberry-rhubarb then mousse.
Common Questions
They’re tastiest after setting for just 2-3 hours, but they’ll keep their texture for 24 hours. From then on, the crumbles will begin to absorb moisture from the strawberry rhubarb and become a bit soft, but honestly, I still think it’s delicious for at least 4 days in the fridge, even after the crumbles absorb some moisture.
Frozen strawberries and rhubarb will release too much liquid and become softer than you want them to be when thawed. If this were a pie, it wouldn’t matter too much because the crust would provide that solid texture, but in this case, the crumbles absorb a bit of the moisture and the mousse is obviously quite soft. The most satisfying texture is when there’s a bit of firmness in the fruit.
A Few Tips
1. You can substitute minute tapioca with cornstarch, but it’s not as tasty.
You need something to soak up all the liquid that gets released from the fruit when it bakes, and cornstarch is a common ingredient to serve that purpose but it tastes like… well, cornstarch. Minute tapioca is flavorless and simply absorbs all that tasty juice into a texture that isn’t gel-like or jiggly. It just keeps it from getting too runny. If you’re not sure where to find it, check the jello isle if your grocery store.
2. Give the cups at least 2 hours to set properly.
Once your cups are filled, they’ll be the most heavenly texture after 2 hours in the fridge, and any time after that.
Help Yourself to More Dessert Inspiration:
- Pumpkin Flan with Chai Whipped Cream
- Beautiful Lemon and Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
- Layered Raspberry & Peach Crisp
- Sunshine Lavender Lemon Bars
For more inspiration, subscribe to my newsletter follow me on Instagram, on Pinterest, tiktok and Facebook! And if you ever make any of my tasty drinks or treats, take a picture and tag me. I want to see!
Strawberry Rhubarb & Vanilla Cheesecake Mousse Cups
Equipment
- 6 8 oz. mason jars or glasses
- cutting board with sharp knife
- whisk
- mixing spoon
- 2 medium-size mixing bowls
- 8" pyrex baking dish
- hand mixer or standing mixer
- food processor/small blender
- sauce pan (optional) – if heating butter on stovetop
- pastry piping bag (optional) – it makes it easier to add mousse to cups than a spoon
Ingredients
Strawberry Rhubarb Mixture
- 2 cups strawberries (about 1 package) – sliced
- 2 cups rhubarb (about 4-5 large stalks) – sliced
- 3 tbsp. minute tapioca
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
Nilla Crumbles
- 2 cups Nilla wafers – when crumbled
- 4 tbsp. butter – salted
Cheesecake Mousse
- 12 oz. whipped cream cheese
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1½ tbsp. real vanilla extract
- ½ cup condensed milk – sweetened
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. In a mixing bowl, whisk together ½ cup sugar and 3 tbsp. tapioca.
- Slice 2 cups of strawberries and 2 cups of rhubarb into half-inch slices. Add strawberries and rhubarb to the mixing bowl, and gently stir to coat in sugar and tapioca.
- Pour into an 8″ square pyrex and bake for 25-30 minutes. Once done, gently mix once more, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- While strawberry-rhubarb cools, whip 1 cup heavy whipping cream in a blender for about 30 seconds, or until it appears to stop splashing. Add whipped cream to a clean mixing bowl.
- With the whipped cream, add 12 oz. whipped cream cheese, 1½ tbsp. real vanilla extract and ½ cup condensed milk. Whip mixture on high with a hand mixer until thoroughly mixed. Refrigerate for 1 hour to set.
- In a food processor, crumble 2 cups Nilla wafers (that's 2 cups, once crumbled). You want them to be a tiny bit chunky, not fine. Add them to a mixing bowl with 4 tbsp. melted, salted butter. Stir until thoroughly mixed.
- Once strawberry-rhubarb is cooled and the mousse is set, layer into glasses with the crumbles. Start with crumbles, using a kitchen tool to flatten them down (I used a lemon juicer, but you can use a spoon). Then, simply layer strawberry-rhubarb, mousse, crumbles, strawberry-rhubarb then mousse.
Gordon W Subject
Awesome, I love everything that has rhubarb in the recipes.
Mary Abler
If I wanted to use cornstarch instead of tapioca, how much should I use?
Genevieve Morrison
Simply use a 1 to 1 ratio 🙂
Katherine
It’s hard to describe how delicious these were! Such a simple recipe! Thank you! I love your whole site!
Genevieve Morrison
Aww, thank you very much!
Peter
Could you use whipped topping or something else for cream? I never have any luck with whipping cream.
Genevieve Morrison
Humm. I’ve never used another kind of whipped cream with this recipe so I can’t personally attest to how well it would work, but I imagine something like Cool Whip could be substituted. I don’t think a whipped cream from a can would work very nicely, though.