For Easter I wanted to prepare a nice dessert, but knew that this year only two people would be eating it. Thus I began searching for recipes that were either light or small enough for two people to easily consume.
Through a rather long search process, I landed on the idea of a lemon mousse. Both light and small enough for us to eat on our own, it was perfect! So of course I made a giant colomba, or dove-shaped Italian sweet bread that is typically eaten at Easter, and ate 90% of it by myself.
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoon fresh lemon zest, finely grated
6 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup whipping cream
2 egg whites, room temperature
1 tablespoon sugar
Optional:
1/2 cup (100 ml) whipping cream
Raspberries
Directions:
1) Whisk together juice, zest, sugar, and egg in a 2-quart heavy saucepan.
2) Stir in butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubble appears on surface, about 4 to 5 minutes.
3) Transfer lemon curd to a bowl and chill, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 1 hour.
4) When the lemon curd is fully chilled, whip the 2 egg whites until soft peaks form. Then add in the tablespoon of sugar and beat until very fluffy and thick.
5) Whip the cream to form light peaks.
6) Gently fold the whipping cream and the lemon curd into the egg whites. Pour or spoon mixture into cups or bowls. Chill until firm, about 2 hours.
7) If you like, just before serving, whip the extra half cup of whipping cream until light and fluffy. Top mousse with whipped cream and raspberries and serve.
The recipe for the lemon curd was adapted from Smitten Kitchen.
