Lemon Mousse

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Today I want to share a secret love of mine which I’ve decided not to keep a secret anymore. I told all about it to my husband as well and I think he is now fine with it. So the thing is that I think I’m in love with Ina Garten. There.. I said it! Yes, if I could I would marry Ina right now! Her soft voice, that friendly smile and out of the world cooking mesmerizes me all the time. I mean what else does a person want?

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She was the one who taught me my first chocolate cake which now people kill to have a bite of ( Ok not really kill, but it tastes decent!) and now she taught me how to make my first lemon mousse. And I can’t even tell you how delicious it is. I mean Its Good!

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Since I tasted that lemon curd for the first time which one of my dearest friend made for her own baby shower I’ve become a big fan of lemon desserts. So recently when I saw one of Barefoot Contessa’s episode where Ina made a lemon mousse I thought I gotta try this recipe. I mean lemon and mousse. How can you go wrong with that? I tried it for the first time, I loved it. Then I made it again with a few changes in the recipe, I loved it again. So when I thought of making it for the third time in the same week, I decided I have to share it with you.

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I tried making a low fat version of the same recipe and it actually tasted pretty good. It was not very different from the original ‘not so low fat’ one but I felt that mousse asks for that creamy texture which was not really happening when I made it low fat. So if you are not planning on making it three times in a week, you can certainly go for this recipe.

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Ingredients: Adapted from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa.

3 extra-large whole eggs
3 extra-large eggs, separated
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)
Salt
1 cup heavy cream

Ina also used 1/2 cup bottled lemon curd which I didn’t. For me the mousse was lemony enough without it but if you want yours extra lemony, you can add the lemon curd. When? I’ll let you know.

Method:

Break three eggs in a heat-proof bowl. Now separate the remaining three eggs and add the yolks into the same bowl saving the while for later. Also add 1 cup sugar, the lemon zest, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk.
This is the time to work those muscles a bit because you have to whisk, whisk and whisk until the mixture is thick like a pudding. You can also switch to a hand mixer once the liquid starts getting thick.

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Take off the heat and set aside for 15 minutes.
Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, until completely chilled.
Now take out the saved egg whites from before, add a pinch of salt and place it in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and continue to beat until the whites are stiff and shiny.
Add it to the bowl with lemon custard and fold very carefully or just wait for the whipped cream.
Place the cream in the same bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks.
Fold it all together with the lemon custard. If you want to add lemon curd, this is the time to do so.
Chill for a couple hours before it all vanishes.

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28 Comments

  1. Hello,
    We love your recipes, especially when its on Mousse.
    These are so delicious.
    I have always looked at your blog for the various pictures and the way you write.Just Love it!
    You have shared some nice information about Lemon Mousse in this post.
    The points you mentioned are genuine and perfect.
    The content completely describes about the topic you wanted to portray with us.
    Thanks for sharing such valuable post.

    Regards
    VentairIndia Team

  2. I’m halfway through making this lovely recipe and just realized the final product will contain raw egg whites. Is this safe?

  3. Hi Prerna, like Sarah I would like to know how many does it serve? I’m thinking of making this for a BBQ this coming sunday 🙂 Thanks in advance!

    • Hi S, this recipe easily serves 5-6 people. I used a medium sized ramekin. It serves as a great party dessert, its light, perfectly sweet and citrusy and can be made days in advance.
      Good Luck with your party!

  4. THANK you – am in Jamaica and overloaded with the most gorgeous huge lemons…. wanted a gelatin free recipe and was going to use Ina’s but didn’t care for the lemon curd part….. so this is perfect.

  5. lemony tangy mousse sounds divine to me especially have been craving lemony stuff lately. thanks for the scrumptious recipe and gorgeous photographs!

  6. There;s just something about lemons that gets me every time. Your pictures make me want to jump across the screen and gobble up all that yummy mousse. Gorgeous!

  7. A Picture speaks thousand words and yours definitely speak billion words. Thanks for stopping by my blog Prerna. It is so overwhelming to meet a food blogger with similar passion for food and photography. Looking forward to share more than hi and few comments.Ciao.

  8. Hi Prerna new to your page and you have an awesome space here. your foodography is just out of the world.
    love the mousse…gorgeous and frothy just the way it should be. also bookmarked some of your recipes…will go through more in future.

  9. Thanx so much you guys! I’m not really sure if I’m worth all this but you always make me happy 🙂
    I’m not really sure how it will taste with honey but it never hurts to try.
    @ Kulsum- I can’t disagree with you. I feel the same when Rachel Ray is on TV..haha
    @ delicieux- Crutches? I hope you r doing better!

  10. These lemon mousse pots look so good!!! And your beautiful photography just makes everything look even more inviting.

    Like you, I have become a fan of Ina. I only recently started watching her show (after being stuck at home on crutches with not much to do except watch TV) and love her cooking style and her recipes all look so inviting.

  11. Okay there is no good way of saying this and I assume you will hate me if I did but I don’t like Ina. No, I don’t. Her voice, her sparkling white clean kitchen, and her oh Gagdets in the kitchen …makes her unreal or well may be its just despise. But yes I know any one can vounch for her recipes, they are always full proof.

  12. Oh yum, I have a glut of lemons and with friends coming to dinner this wed eve I was planning on a lemon dessert. This is a must try for me, especially being so hot here; lemon dessert is perfecct.

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