Recipes

My husband, Drew, loves this luscious mousse. Not only is it a lemon lover's dream, it's also surprisingly versatile. For a dinner party, pipe the rum-spiked mousse into stemmed wine glasses, alternating lemony layers with fresh blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries to create an elegant parfait. For a casual family night, leave out the rum and simply spoon the mousse into custard cups and top it with berries. Crisp cookies, like the Earthbound Farm Ginger Snaps (see page 320), make a nice contrast to the silky mousse. But don't wait until the last minute to make this dessert because the texture improves as it chills in the refrigerator for a few hours. In fact, it holds up so well that you can make the mousse a day or two in advance.

5 large eggs
1 cup sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup fresh lemon juice, strained (about 6 lemons)
1½ cups heavy (whipping) cream, chilled
Grated zest of 1 lemon
¼ cup dark rum (optional) 1 half-pint (about 1¼ cups) fresh raspberries, or 1¼ cups sliced hulled strawberries, for garnish
1 half-pint (about 1 cup) fresh blueberries, for garnish
6 to 8 fresh mint sprigs, for garnish

1. Place the eggs in a bowl and beat them with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar, occasionally scraping down the side of the bowl if needed. Increase the speed to high and beat the egg mixture until it is very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes longer. Reduce the speed to low, add the butter and lemon juice, and mix until just combined.

2. Transfer the egg mixture to a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Be careful not to let the mixture simmer or the eggs will overheat and scramble. The egg mixture is done when it coats the spoon so thickly that if you draw your finger across it, the mark holds, and an instant-read thermometer registers 138°F, 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Transfer the egg mixture to a clean bowl. To prevent a skin from forming, cover the egg mixture by pressing plastic wrap or waxed paper against the surface. Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator and let it chill for at least 6 hours or as long as 2 days.

4. When the egg mixture is cold, place the cream in a large bowl and beat it with an electric mixer at medium speed until it becomes frothy. Add the lemon zest and rum, if using, and continue beating until the cream forms soft peaks. Do not overbeat.

5. Whisk about half of the whipped cream into the chilled egg mixture. Fold the remaining whipped cream into the egg mixture to combine thoroughly.

6. Using a spoon or pastry bag, fill cups or stemmed glasses with the mousse, leaving room for the raspberry and blueberry garnish. (To make parfaits, alternate the berries with layers of the mousse.)

7. Cover the mousse with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours or up to 48 hours. Serve the mousse well chilled, garnished with the berries and mint.

Excerpted from Food to Live By
Copyright © 2006 by Linda Holland, Pamela McKinstry, and Myra Goodman. All rights reserved.