Lemon Yogurt Mousse

If you love lemon this is going to be one of your most favorite desserts. 


It is from http://www.americastestkitchen.com/ / Light & Healthy issue.


It took me three attempts to get this right, but it was worth every bowl, spoon and kitchen appliance I had to wash after. This post is going to be a bit lengthy but mostly photos of the ways I found worked best for me.


I hope you try it.

YOU WILL NEED:


Blueberry Sauce:


3/4 cup fresh blueberries
(note * recipe says you can substitute 1 cup of frozen blueberries)
(note again * most the little containers of berries I find are 6 ounces - so i just throw the entire package in - leave all other ingredients as is)
2 tablespoons sugar
(except here - maybe just a little extra sprinkling of sugar)
2 tablespoons water
pinch of salt




Mousse:


3 tablespoons water
3/4 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash of salt
3 large egg whites
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar




For the Blueberry Sauce - Put blueberries, sugar, water and the pinch of salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat  - stirring occasionally. Cook about 5 minutes then transfer the entire mixture to a blender or food processor (recipe says use a blender but I hate my blender so I used my food processor - worked great) Pulse/Puree until smooth.

Then strain the mixture into a small bowl - pressing on the liquid to extract as much puree as possible.

Spoon the sauce evenly into 6 small ramekins - I found the best way to try and get the servings even was to use a tablespoon measuring spoon - then when i started running low i changed to a 1/2 size measuring spoon until all the puree was gone (I know this seems like a lot of little spoons running around - but my touch of OCD requires me to do some things this way)

Put the ramekins in the refrigerator for at least a half hour.


For the Mousse:


Pour the 3 tablespoons of water into a small bowl then sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the top. This is the one I used.

Set aside until ready to use.


In another bowl - whisk the heavy cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, salt and yogurt together.

I recommend the following yogurt. It is delicious and I don't know why I haven't had it before.

Now - This is where I made a giant mistake. I'm not sure why i grabbed a stainless steel bowl to whisk the egg whites but I did. And they NEVER came anywhere near fluffed. And then I thought the mixer would fix it and I was very, very wrong. Thirty minutes later I still had a bowl of oddly colored liquid - no mousse in sight and a smoking standing mixer. Needless to say, that batch went down the drain and I started over.

Use a GLASS bowl for this next step - unless you have another bowl that you know will work.

Make sure also that you have a bowl that will lay comfortably on top of a saucepan so you can whisk the egg whites.

Back to the task at hand - whisk the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a large bowl.

Set this bowl over a saucepan of simmering water - making sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Heat this mixture - whisking constantly - until it has tripled in size and registers about 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer. I also skipped using the thermometer (just too lazy to get it) I whisk for 10 minutes until the egg whites are big and shiny and look like mousse - and by the way - what is in the bowl should already look like finished mousse product at this point (it's not done - but it should almost look like it is)

Off the heat whisk in the gelatin/water mixture then mix all of that with an electric mixer until you get stiff shiny peaks - almost another 10 minutes. (Another note here - I just used my little hand held mixer because I did not want to have another thing to wash and because I didn't want to waste any of the egg white mix in transferring to another bowl)

Now add the yogurt mixture and continue to mix just until combined - maybe a minute.

Finally - it's time to fill the ramekins. Again, I used a tablespoon measuring spoon to help me with the whole 'keeping quantities even' within each ramekin. Then switched to a smaller measuring spoon as i started running out (I know - again with all the little spoons)

Once all the dishes are filled and you are out of mousse mix - cover and chill overnight. (recipe says 6 - 8 hours - I figure a good nights sleep won't hurt anybody)

Serve garnished with a few fresh blueberries (just because it was pretty)

Eat them all.