Strawberries wtith basil, lemon cream, whipped cream, and swiss meringue

Swiss meringue

Stir the egg whites and sugar together in a bowl.
Heat the mixture in a bain-marie until it reaches a temperature of 40 °C, stirring all the time to prevent the egg whites from cooking.
Beat the mixture in a mixer until the meringue forms stiff peaks.
To know if the meringue is ready, taste it. The sugar should no longer feel crunchy.
Using a pastry bag with a 6-mm nozzle, make thin meringue sticks on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment.
Then dry the meringue sticks for about one hour in the oven at 100 °C, leaving the oven door half-open so that the moisture can escape.
To avoid breaking the meringue sticks when lifting them off the baking sheet, use a metal spatula.

Basil and lemon cream

Basil and lemon cream in advance, take the butter out of the refrigerator so that it is at room temperature.
Put the sheet of gelatine in cold water to soften it.
Process the basil leaves and lemon juice in a blender.
Beat the eggs and sugar together, then add the basil and lemon juice mixture.

Cook the mixture in a saucepan, stirring all the time. When the mixture has reached a temperature of 85 °C, remove it from the heat, add the gelatine and stir again.
Transfer the mixture onto a dish, forming a thin layer so that it cools down.
When it has reached 35 °C, put it through the blender with the butter.
Cover the mixture with cling film (it must touch the surface of the mixture) and put in the refrigerator.

The whipped cream mascarpone

Whip all the ingredients together in a blender to obtain a firm texture.
Transfer to a pastry bag with a large nozzle.
Put in the refrigerator.

The strawberries with basil

Make a syrup by bringing the water and the sugar to the boil. Leave to cool.
When the syrup is lukewarm, add the basil to infuse it.

Wash the strawberries before removing the stalks, then cut 400 g into small cubes of 5 or 6 mm.

Stir the syrup into the strawberries.
Put in the refrigerator.

Presentation

Arrange the strawberries on a plate inside cake ring moulds 5 or 6 cm in diameter.
Pour a little basil strawberry syrup on top.
Using the pastry bag, garnish the strawberries with a few drops of the basil and lemon cream.
Remove the pastry rings.
Decorate the strawberries with a few meringue sticks.
Then garnish with a few strawberries cut into slices and small basil leaves.