A splendid presentation and a taste to match, this cake has a chocolate cookie crust filled with luscious chocolate mousse and fresh strawberries.

Strawberry Chocolate Mousse Cake

1 cup (about 5-ounces) chocolate cookie or chocolate graham cracker crumbs 3 tablespoons melted butter or margarine 2 pint baskets California strawberries, stemmed and halved 2 cups (12-ounces) semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 2 1/2 cups whipping cream - divided use 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

In bowl, mix crumbs and butter to blend thoroughly. Press evenly onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Stand strawberry halves, touching, side-by-side, pointed ends up with cuts sides against side of pan, set aside.
Place chocolate chips in blender container.
In small saucepan over medium heat, mix water and corn syrup; bring to boil and simmer 1 minute. Immediately pour over chocolate chips and blend until smooth. Cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, in large mixer bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups of the cream to form stiff peaks. With rubber spatula, fold cooled chocolate into whipped cream to blend thoroughly. Pour into prepared pan; level top. (Points of strawberries might extend above chocolate mixture.) Cover and refrigerate 4 to 24 hours.
Up to 2 hours before serving, in medium mixer bowl, beat remaining 1 cup cream to form soft peaks. Add sugar; beat to form stiff peaks.
Remove side of pan; place cake on serving plate. Pipe or dollop whipped cream onto top of cake. Arrange remaining halved strawberries on whipped cream.
To serve, cut into wedges with thin knife, wiping blade between cuts.

Makes 12 servings.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: 406 calories; 30 g fat; 76 mg cholesterol; 153 mg sodium; 36 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 5 g protein.