Rancho Lemon Mousse

Rancho Lemon Mousse
Source: Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 367.

Very light and tangy tart, this is a great dessert to serve during the hot summer. It is made with both sour cream and whipped cream. Fresh lemons are a must!

There is a lot of mixing here (the whipped cream, egg whites, lemon mixture) and it can get hectic figuring out what is what. Do read the instructions closely and have your mixing bowls ready. I have two bowls for my stand mixer - I wish I had a third one for this recipe.

This can be made a day ahead or at least 4 hours ahead.

6 large eggs, separated
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3 TBS. plus 1/3 cup cold water
1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup sour cream
1 cup whipping cream
1/8 tsp. salt

Beat the eggs at high speed for about 4-5 minutes, until they are pale in color.

 

Dissolve the gelatin in 3 tablespoons of water and let it stand.

Dissolve the 1/4 cup of sugar in the 1/3 cup of water until the mixture comes to a boil. Let it boil for 3 minutes. Add the gelatin and remove from the heat.

Add the lemon zest and the lemon juice - stir.

Place the sour cream in a bowl and stir in the lemon mixture.

Add about half of the sour cream mixture to the egg yolks a little at a time.

Then add the egg mixture back into the bowl with the sour cream mixture.

Sit the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water. Stir with a rubber spatula until the mixture starts to thicken (do not let it set). (I wasn't sure if I was stirring this enough but it was okay - just stir for a few minutes until you can tell that it is getting a little thicker).

In a clean, chilled bowl (chill your beaters too!), beat the whipping cream until it holds a shape.
Set aside.

Now, in a separate bowl (also chilled), add the egg whites and slowly add the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar. Beat until the whites hold a shape.

After the sour cream mixture has started to thicken, remove it from the ice and fold about half of it into the whipped cream.

Gradually fold the whipped cream AND the yolk mixture into the beaten egg whites.

Pour into serving bowls or wine glasses and let it chill for at least 4 hours. (I used a plastic bag cut at the corner so that I could pipe it into my glasses).