This luscious lemon mousse cake with fresh berries is one of the most creamy, fresh, and delicious lemon desserts! Featuring bright lemon flavor and smooth creamy mousse, this is a cake I’ve made many times over, and I know that you’re going to love it.
While this may not be the “easiest” cake to make (it takes a while to make it), the entire process is very doable if you just plan your time appropriately. It’s truly one of the best cake recipes to make summer (or any time of year, for that matter) extra special.
What is mousse?
Mousse is a whipped, fluffy, aerated food (usually dessert) with a light, soft texture. Dessert mousse is most often made with whipping cream and some kind of sweet base folded together. It is also usually made with some kind of setting agent (to hold its structure and prevent the cream from separating), such as gelatine, cornstarch or even chocolate.
Making lemon mousse
Lemon mousse is made by folding homemade lemon curd (thick lemon custard) and whipping cream together. It is creamy, tangy, soft, and fresh – making the perfect summer dessert!
You can make your own tangy lemon curd with eggs (to give the custard its thick texture and rich flavor), sugar, lemon juice, and butter.
How to make lemon mousse cake with fresh berries
I’m not going to lie to you, making a lemon mousse cake with fresh berries is a process that does require some time commitment. That said, it is not hard – and if you plan your time appropriately, it is 100% worth it. Here’s an outline of how it’s done!
Bake the cake
First, you’ll want to bake the cake. You can use any basic vanilla cake or sponge cake for this recipe, with a little bit of lemon zest folded into the batter before baking to make a lemon cake. Enough batter to bake a 6-inch cake is enough for this short 9-inch cake layer; just make sure you make it in a 9-inch pan, and spread it evenly. Trim the top of the cake off to make a cake layer that is about 1-inch high.
Wash the berries
I like to rinse my berries all together in a colander under cold water, and then place them on a large plate lined with clean paper towel to drip-dry. Set the berries aside while you make the mousse.
Make the mousse
- To make the lemon mousse, you will first sprinkle gelatin over water to soften it, and then dissolve it in a pan of simmering water to make a smooth warm gelatin mixture.
- Next, you can make the lemon curd on the stovetop in a small saucepan. This process is quite simple, cooking all of the ingredients together on medium-low heat until thickened. Add the dissolved gelatin, and then whisk gelatin-curd mixture until combined.
- Once that is done, you can press the warm curd through a sieve with a rubber spatula into a medium bowl. Cool the lemon curd quickly by placing the bowl over an ice water bath in a large bowl (so that the small bowl of the two can sit inside).
- Finally, you can make whipped cream with an electric mixer on high speed with a whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Then the lemon mixture gets folded into the heavy cream, to make a smooth mixture with soft peaks.
Assemble the cake
The cake can be assembled with a plastic acetate cake collar or a springform pan. It is assembled with the cake layer on the bottom, a layer of mousse on top of that, berries, and then the rest of the mousse on top. You can decorate the top with mint leaves and fresh berries, if desired, but honestly I like to just leave the whole thing plain (as pictured in this post), maybe wrapping the outside in a thick ribbon if I’m bringing it to a party.
Chill
For best results, you should chill mousse cake for at least 2 hours or until set. Once cold, you can slice it with a thin knife and serve it!
The best berries to use
For this recipe, I like to use a blend of raspberries and blackberries, but you can easily add strawberries or blueberries to mix (or sub them out completely). Anything you like to eat with lemon is what you should use!
The only thing to consider about strawberries is shelf life; if you make this cake with chopped strawberries, you’ll want to make sure you serve it within 1-2 days of making it.
How long will this cake keep?
This cake will keep in the fridge for about 4 days. My preference is to make it the day before I want to serve it so that the mousse has time to set completely and the slices of cake come out with clean, sharp edges.
Serving lemon mousse cake
I love to serve this cake for pretty much any occasion, but it has often found its way to my table for birthdays and special occasions in particular. One great thing about this recipe is that you can make it in pretty much any size or form. Here’s a few different ideas for how to serve it:
- Make this cake in little cups as mini trifles (for individual servings)
- Turn this recipe into mini mousse cakes! Bake a sheet cake for the base, and use a biscuit cutter to make small cake rounds. Then wrap each one in a plastic cake collar, and follow the directions on a small-scale (as for the larger cake).
- Use this recipe to bake for a crowd! Multiply this recipe and assemble it in a large cake pan (whatever size you use for the cake base), and chill it in the pan with sides. Just make sure to multiply it to make enough mousse to generously cover the cake (the mousse layer should be about 2x the height of the cake layer). Leave me a comment if you need help with proportions!
- Wrap the plastic collar of cake in a thick, berry colored ribbon to make it as a gift!
Do you need a plastic collar to make this cake?
This beautiful lemon dessert is best when you assemble it inside of a plastic collar. If you don’t have that, you can also make a collar for the cake out of a springform pan.
You can also use parchment paper to make a collar for this cake, but I wouldn’t recommend it as my plan A (it can be really tricky to get the parchment paper to stay in place). If you do decide to use parchment, use scotch tape and a paper clip to secure the paper in place.
You will need:
- Ingredients (see recipe card)
- Electric mixer (hand held or stand mixer)
- Small saucepan
- Heat-proof cup
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Medium saucepan
- Medium mixing bowl
- Large mixing bowl
- Colander/strainer
- Medium-large sieve
- Rubber spatula
- Whisk
- Long serrated knife
- Plate
- Clear acetate cake collar or 9″ springform pan
- Scotch tape
- Serving plate
Perfect Lemon Mousse Cake with Fresh Berries
This deliciously lemony mousse cake is the ultimate crowd pleaser and the perfect summer dessert!
Ingredients
- 1 9″ round vanilla cake prepared, cooled, and levelled to a 1-inch (2.5cm) height
- 1 6oz. container fresh raspberries washed (about 1 cup)
- 1 6oz. container fresh blackberries washed (about 1 cup)
- 1 recipe Lemon mousse (below)
Lemon Mousse
- 1 Tbsp. water
- 1/2 tsp. powdered non-flavored gelatin
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- pinch of salt
- 5 Tbsp. butter cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
-
Place the water in a small heat-proof cup; sprinkle the gelatine over top and let it soften for 5 minutes. Set the cup of gelatine into a small pan of simmering water for a few minutes and stir until the gelatine is dissolved. Remove from heat, but leave the cup of gelatine in the hot water.
-
Set a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl and set aside. In a medium heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk until blended. Add the lemon juice, salt, and butter and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens (7-10 minutes). Do not let the mixture boil.
The lemon mixture is ready when you dip a spoon into the mixture and it leaves a light coating on the back of the spoon.
-
Remove from heat, and stir in the warm gelatine mixture. Immediately press the mixture through the sieve into the prepared bowl, pressing it through with a rubber spatula. Set aside.
-
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the cream at high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside (this is best kept in the refrigerator to keep it cold).
-
Set the bowl of lemon curd into a larger bowl with ice water, careful not to splash any water into the lemon. Stir gently until the mixture becomes slightly cooler than room temperature (about 10 minutes). Remove from the ice water and dry the base of the bowl.
-
Fold a large spoonful of whipped cream into the lemon mixture to lighten it, and then add the rest of the cream, folding it in gently until the mixture is well combined and a smooth pale yellow color.
To Assemble the Cake:
-
Prepare the cake by levelling it to a 1-inch (2.5cm) height. Place the vanilla cake round onto a large serving plate or cake board. Wrap the cake in a plastic cake collar or parchment paper*, taping it with scotch tape to secure it in place. Alternatively, you can use the rim of a springform pan.
*Parchment paper is very difficult to secure in place, so I don't recommend this option unless you have to. To hold the parchment paper, make a small tear through the overlap at the ends of the paper where they join together, and fold it down, securing it in place with a paper clip.
-
Spoon about 1/2 of the lemon mousse on top of the cake layer, and spread to the edge of the collar. Sprinkle with fresh berries, and then top with the remaining mousse, spreading evenly. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, or until cold and set.
Note: You can decorate the top of the cake with fresh berries and mint leaves, if desired.
-
Cut with a hot knife, wiping the blade clean after each cut. Store in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
*You can use any vanilla cake or sponge cake as the base for this recipe. To make it lemon, mix the rind of 1 lemon in with your cake batter before you bake it.
If you like this recipe, you may also like:
- Raspberry Sponge Cake
- Authentic German Black Forest Cake
- Miniature Cheesecake Trifles
- Austrian Sachertorte
That’s all for today! I hope you enjoy this recipe; drop me a note in the comments to let me know what you think! Also, as always – feel free to tag me in your gorgeous baking photos on Instagram @naomicakesofficial. I’d love to see your great work.
Bye for now,
Naomi
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P.S. If you want, you can save the lemon cake trimmings and use them to make a simple trifle later with whipped cream and fresh berries.
Thanks for posting the full details,its really a good information
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Dan and I LOVE this cake. 🙂 maybe I’ll need to try and make it for our anniversary. Since you’ll be in Germany.