fresh lemon mousse

a homemade dessert is like a hug.....it can be a personal signature.....  a little message that says "i care enough about you to make you something special." i learned that from tilly. if she made you a special dessert it was because she loved you and wanted to make you smile. it felt like a hug! ..... i love to make dessert when guests are coming over, or even for a business meeting where people might be traveling from far off cities.  there is nothing like opening up a box of homemade frosted chocolate cupcakes for a group stuck in a 4 hour meeting....really gets the creative juices flowing.  my favorite traveling desserts are cookies and cupcakes....but with no oven i had to get more creative.  (new stove with oven on order....ETA 2 weeks...YAY) if you ever need to make a beautiful dessert ( and maybe you don't have access to a working oven) you might try this wonderful recipe from ina garten (it's in my favorite book back to basics).

light and and little bit tart

full recipe and step by step pictures after the jump

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 ( about 4 lemons)
kosher salt
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup good bottled lemon curd (i used trader joe's,  stone wall kitchen is also good)
sweetened whipped cream (recipe follows)
sliced lemons for garnish

use a heat proof (pyrex bowl).  whisk 3 whole eggs and 3 egg yolks and 1 cup of sugar, the lemon zest, lemon juice and pinch of salt.  place bowl over a simmering pan of water and cook stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for about 10-12 minutes, until the mixture starts to thicken like pudding.  (ina suggests changing to a whisk for stirring when it starts to get thick.) take it off the heat and cool for 15 minutes.   then cover with plastic wrap so that the plastic touches the surface of the mixture and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, until completely chilled.  (go shopping)

brit took care of the first set of steps

 Place half the egg whites and a pinch of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer and using a whisk attachment beat on high speed.  add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and continue to beat until egg whites are stiff and shiny.  carefully fold the beaten whites into the cold lemon mixture with a rubber spatula.  then place the cream into the mixer bowl and beat on high until the cream forms stiff peaks then carefully fold the whipped cream into the lemon mixture.

brit adding the mousse to one of tilly's classic glass bowls

 next fold in the lemon curd and pour into a 7 inch diameter souffle dish or a decorative glass dish like the one i used.

ooooh looks so yummy

 make the sweetened whipped cream:
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

place the cream, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment.  whip on medium and then high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks.  spoon the cream into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. pipe the cream as shown expertly below by kelsey.  garnish with quartered lemon slices.

piping the whipped cream

kelsey the piping queen

lemon mousse with cappuccino

this one was a group effort...myself,  brit and kelsey each did a part.... i made the cappuccino's and project managed.  another fun day in the kitchen with wonderful results.