Isn’t it funny how certain foods or dishes can instantly transport us back to a certain moment in history? Lemon mousse is one of those desserts for me.
When I was growing up, we had a huge Meyer lemon tree in our back yard. It continually gifted us the most amazing sweet, juicy lemons. Although we would enjoy those lemons many different ways, there was one particular dish that will forever stand out in my mind. It was New Year’s Eve and my mom and her friend’s were making a special dinner. I can’t remember what they cooked for dinner, but I remember that dessert in vivid detail. It was a lemon mousse made with the Meyer lemons from our tree. It was very elaborate and time consuming to make, from the cooked lemon custard to the hand whipping of the meringue into stiff peaks (in a special copper bowl). The making of that mousse may have been long and time-consuming, but the finished mousse was something that I will never forget. It was somewhere between a light lemon custard and mousse, with an intense lemon flavor that was like pure sunshine. It was amazing! I also remember how the lemon zest in the mousse made the flavors sparkle even more with each bite. I can close my eyes all these years later, and still remember the pure joy of eating that dessert.
So when GoWise asked me to do a sponsored post for them with their fantastic new blender, I started thinking about fun recipes to create in it. Suddenly that lemon mousse popped into my head and I knew that I had to recreate it, albeit in a healthier, but equally delicious way.
I am excited to say that this lemon mousse is everything that I remember from that New Year’s mousse, but even better! Plus instead of it taking hours to make, it takes now takes minutes (thanks to that awesome new blender from GoWise!). It’s all so much healthier now too, with only a handful of ingredients, and not an ounce of guilt.
Please note that this post is sponsored by GoWise USA. All opinions expressed here are my own. You can find their awesome products on their website, as well as on Amazon. I’m super excited that GoWise is offering a special 15% discount code for my readers (for the High Performance Professional Blender), along with free shipping! Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/GWjulie. The discount Code is: gowisejulie. It’s on sale for $109.99, plus you can get an additional 15% off with my code!
And, before I share the recipe, I want to share a little bit about the blender. If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you know how much I love great appliances. A strong blender is on the top of my list, as it is probably the most used appliance in my kitchen. I make everything from sauces and salad dressings to dips, spreads, and desserts. I love being able to throw everything in the blender, and letting it do the hard work. The issue with most of the strong blenders is that they come with a very high price tag. Well GoWise is debuting a new line of strong, very affordable blenders, and I was so excited to get to test drive one. The first thing I blended was un-soaked cashews into a cashew milk, as that is my barometer of how strong and effective a blender is. It did a stellar job! No need to strain it at all. Since then I’ve made lots of sauces with both soaked and un-soaked cashews, as well as smoothies full of huge frozen strawberries, frozen mango, and frozen pineapple. This blender has done a stellar job with each challenge that I presented.
The High Performance Professional Blender is 1450 watts, with 8 stainless steel blades. It has a tall BPA-free 67-ounce Tritan pitcher. This blender gives you a lot of bang for your buck!
PrintEasy Meyer Lemon Mousse (Vegan + Gluten-Free)
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This lemon mousse is going to knock your socks off! It is so full of fresh lemon flavor, and it’s pretty healthy too. You can make the mousse up to 1 day ahead. If you want to make the mousse even fancier, you can layer it as a parfait with fresh raspberries and ground cookie crumbs (grind them in your blender!).
Ingredients
1 12.3 ounce box MoriNu silken Firm Tofu
1/2 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (or regular lemon juice)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup raw, unsalted cashews, soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes + drained
1 teaspoon Boyajian lemon oil (optional, but gives the mousse a bigger lemon kick)
2 tablespoons Instant Clearjel or EZ Gel*
Zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
- In the blender jar, combine the tofu, lemon juice, sugar, cashews, and lemon oil. Blend until super smooth and fluffy. You will probably need to scrape down the sides of the blender. Once the mixture is smooth, with the machine running on low speed, add the Instant Clearjel through the top of the blender. Blend until smooth. Add the lemon zest and pulse several times just to lightly mix. You don’t want to over-blend the zest.
- Refrigerate the mousse for several hours, and serve. You can serve it in small glasses or canning jars, or layer with fresh raspberries and graham cracker or vanilla cookie crumbs.
Notes
*If you don’t have the instant starch, you can omit it. The difference will be a softer set pudding rather than a mousse. The flavor will still be the same.
- Category: Dessert
tofutraveler
OOoooh, Julie!! Lemon Mousse made with Meyer Lemon Juice – we win!
I will definitely be making this for my book club in the Summer! Your creativity never disappoints. I know what you mean by those familiar, long ago treats and how the flavors and textures still resonate for us. My mom made a from-scratch white/vanilla cake with whipped cream icing, and I would love to work on a vegan alternative to it – which is something I will do after I move and get settled into my new place. Thanks for all your culinary inspirations!
Julie Hasson
Thanks so much tofutraveler! I know what you mean about white cake too. I became obsessed when I first went gluten-free, and that obsession is why I developed my white cake mix. Next up I’m going to make a white cake and fill it with this lemon mousse! xo
Claude Lagardere
Sounds wonderful send me some. Love you Dad