Tweet
Way back at the end of january it was my mum's 70th. I'd decided one of the desserts for her birthday meal was going to be a lemon mousse (the other I posted up, was a lattice topped, mincemeat & apple pie).
I looked around the internet - as you do. And found a bunch of lemon mousse recipes, none of which looked quite right to me. I wanted something that was so light it just dissolved in a lemony cloud in your mouth.
So I nicked bits from various recipes and created my own :-)
Now some people call this a cold souffle, I call it a mousse - take you pick.
The recipe
400ml - 14 us floz double/heavy cream
2 lemons juiced and zested - as fine as you can possible do it. You don't want strips but very finely grated zest - use a nutmeg grater if you've got one.
100g - 3.5 oz caster sugar (not sure what you call it, basically between icing sugar and ordinary table sugar)
4 egg whites - largest eggs you can find - or 5 egg whites from medium eggs.
3 leafs of gelatine - or powdered gelatine sufficient to set 12 floz of liquid. We're aiming for a very light set - just firm enough to give it structure, but not firm enough to know gelatine has been used.
This is a pretty easy thing to make as you make the four elements seperately - at your leisure and then mix them together fairly quickly.
1) add the lemon ZEST, sugar and cream to a large bowl (you're going to fold the whipped egg whites in later, so don't skimp on the bowl size).
2) whip the cream until it just starts to thicken. You want it so that it almost holds a peak - but not quite - but no stiffer !
3)Juice the lemons and set the juice aside.
4) dissolve the gelatine in the appropriate amount of water. In my case this was 3 uk tbs (6 us tbs) of cold water. I set the bowl with the gelatine and cold water into hot water, and stirred it till it all dissolved. Then leave it where it is till you need it.
5) whip the egg whites till they are fairly stiff: ie till they hold a peak.
6) Okay now it all comes together:
1) mix the lemon juice with the melted gelatine and add to the cream and beat till it stiffens to the point where it will hold a peak, DON'T turn it into butter or you'll never fold the egggwhite in
2) using a large metal spoon fold the eggwhite into the cream mix. Try and fold using a cutting/scooping motion not a stirring motion.
7) turn the mousse out into the final serving bowl or bowls and leave in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or until firm to the touch.
Decorate with either whipped cream or fresh raspberries.
I don't think it needs any more cream but the raspberries do work well.
These pictures are from the second one I made, which ws raspberry free - just too busy to take any pics first time round lol
This amount is sufficient for up to 12 people as a palate cleanser at the end of the meal or six people as a main dessert. But the recipe amounts will halve and even quarter quite happily and still work.
If you get it right this should be the lightest most lemony melting mousse you can imagine.
It's really much easier to make than it looks. As long as you don't over whip the cream mix and don't use too much gelatine - you can't really go wrong.
You can make it without the gelatine - but I think that just gives it a bit more structure and lets you add more air when mixing, which all makes it that bit lighter and more ready to dissolve in your mouth.
I have to admit this is the first time I've EVER used a solution of dissolved gelatine in a cold dish (used it in making marshmallow - but that's another story). So I was pretty worried about getting 'bogies'. But as long as you make sure it's fuly dissolved and don't linger once youve mixed the lemon juice in and added it to the cream - it's fine.
I've made this recipe twice - both times it came out identical.
Give it a try - you won't regret it
plus you can make hollandaise with the egg yolks :-)
I looked around the internet - as you do. And found a bunch of lemon mousse recipes, none of which looked quite right to me. I wanted something that was so light it just dissolved in a lemony cloud in your mouth.
So I nicked bits from various recipes and created my own :-)
Now some people call this a cold souffle, I call it a mousse - take you pick.
The recipe
400ml - 14 us floz double/heavy cream
2 lemons juiced and zested - as fine as you can possible do it. You don't want strips but very finely grated zest - use a nutmeg grater if you've got one.
100g - 3.5 oz caster sugar (not sure what you call it, basically between icing sugar and ordinary table sugar)
4 egg whites - largest eggs you can find - or 5 egg whites from medium eggs.
3 leafs of gelatine - or powdered gelatine sufficient to set 12 floz of liquid. We're aiming for a very light set - just firm enough to give it structure, but not firm enough to know gelatine has been used.
This is a pretty easy thing to make as you make the four elements seperately - at your leisure and then mix them together fairly quickly.
1) add the lemon ZEST, sugar and cream to a large bowl (you're going to fold the whipped egg whites in later, so don't skimp on the bowl size).
2) whip the cream until it just starts to thicken. You want it so that it almost holds a peak - but not quite - but no stiffer !
3)Juice the lemons and set the juice aside.
4) dissolve the gelatine in the appropriate amount of water. In my case this was 3 uk tbs (6 us tbs) of cold water. I set the bowl with the gelatine and cold water into hot water, and stirred it till it all dissolved. Then leave it where it is till you need it.
5) whip the egg whites till they are fairly stiff: ie till they hold a peak.
6) Okay now it all comes together:
1) mix the lemon juice with the melted gelatine and add to the cream and beat till it stiffens to the point where it will hold a peak, DON'T turn it into butter or you'll never fold the egggwhite in
2) using a large metal spoon fold the eggwhite into the cream mix. Try and fold using a cutting/scooping motion not a stirring motion.
7) turn the mousse out into the final serving bowl or bowls and leave in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or until firm to the touch.
Decorate with either whipped cream or fresh raspberries.
I don't think it needs any more cream but the raspberries do work well.
These pictures are from the second one I made, which ws raspberry free - just too busy to take any pics first time round lol
This amount is sufficient for up to 12 people as a palate cleanser at the end of the meal or six people as a main dessert. But the recipe amounts will halve and even quarter quite happily and still work.
If you get it right this should be the lightest most lemony melting mousse you can imagine.
It's really much easier to make than it looks. As long as you don't over whip the cream mix and don't use too much gelatine - you can't really go wrong.
You can make it without the gelatine - but I think that just gives it a bit more structure and lets you add more air when mixing, which all makes it that bit lighter and more ready to dissolve in your mouth.
I have to admit this is the first time I've EVER used a solution of dissolved gelatine in a cold dish (used it in making marshmallow - but that's another story). So I was pretty worried about getting 'bogies'. But as long as you make sure it's fuly dissolved and don't linger once youve mixed the lemon juice in and added it to the cream - it's fine.
I've made this recipe twice - both times it came out identical.
Give it a try - you won't regret it
plus you can make hollandaise with the egg yolks :-)
but a great cook/chef & stone slinger 
Comment