Sweet Yet Sour

Lemon Mousse

Sunday, April 19th, 2009 | Cooking | 4 Comments

The other day when Mike and Nate were brewing the latest batch of beer Mike added some lemon zest to the brew.  When he asked what he should do with the lemon, I told him to keep it and I would make him some lemon mousse.  Mike’s eyes seemed to brighten at that proposal..

This is a recipe that I got from my “How to Cook Everything” by Mark Bittman.  It’s easy and a lovely light dessert.  I usually put blueberries or raspberries on top and a little whipped cream as well.

Lemon Mousse

1 package unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Put the lemon juice in a saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the juice.  (Don’t turn the heat on under the pan at this point. )

Beat the eggs, zest and sugar in a bowl with a mixer on medium until light lemon and slightly thickened.

Turn the heat under the saucepan and stir occasionally until the gelatin is dissolved – only one or two minutes.  Take the pan off the heat and let cool for 1 minute.  Add to the egg mixture and stir thoroughly.

(Saturday when I made this, I totally flubbed this step and it still turned out just fine.  This is why I burn toast – I’m just too busy doing other things. I left the pan on longer than 2 minutes and forgot the “cool” step.  I took the pan off the heat after realizing I had left it on there too long, and then immediately added it to the egg mixture.  Duh! But it still set up just fine!)

Whip the cream until soft peaks form and stir into the egg mixture.  Once well mixed, pour into ramekins and refrigerate. The recipe makes 6 small ramekins.

The recipe asks that you refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours “stirring occasionally”. I ignore this and just leave it in the fridge – I just don’t have time to tend to a needy mousse.

A tip for whipping cream that I learned from my mom – it whips more quickly (which is key with this recipe so that the gelatin doesn’t set) if whipped in a cold metal bowl with cold beaters.  I generally put the bowl and the beaters in the fridge for at least 10 minutes before I need them.