Once upon a time, I wrote a post about making a this a delightful Lemon Berry Mousse Cake, and well… Long story short, I didn’t post the recipe.

BUT!

I have since had a few requests that I share the recipe with the wider world, so that is just what I am going to do; I hope you enjoy it!  For the sake of saving time, I will leave the old post as it was and all of the step-by-step pictures there – So you’ll definitely want to visit the link above to see how it’s done. In the meantime, however, I will post the recipe here for your enjoyment!

Lemon Berry Mousse Cake
Makes 1 9″ round cake, serves 12

Ingredients:
1 9″ vanilla cake, levelled
1 6 oz. container fresh raspberries, washed
1 6 oz. container fresh blackberries, washed
Lemon mousse

*You can use any light cake as the base; the cake pictured uses a regular home-made basic vanilla cake (I had one on hand that I wanted to use up). For convenience, however, you can also use a lemon or vanilla cake from a mix, or, as is my favourite, you can make yourself a light sponge cake for the base of your cake. To make it a little more special, mix the rind of 1 lemon in with your cake batter before you bake it.

Lemon Mousse
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. powdered non-flavored gelatin
4 large eggs
1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp. sugar
1/3 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
pinch of salt
5 Tbsp. butter, cut into chunks
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

Place the water in a small heat-proof cup; sprinkle the gelatin over time and let it soften for 5 minutes. Set the cup of gelatin into a small pan of simmering water for a few minutes and sit until the gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat but leave the cup of gelatin 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 gelatin 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 (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.

To Assemble the Cake:
Place your 9″ vanilla cake round onto plate or cake board. Wrap the cake in a plastic cake collar or parchment paper, taping it to secure it in place (the collar should be more than 2x the height of the cake layer; trim the cake down a bit if it is too thick).

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. Cut with a hot knife, wiping the blade clean after each cut. Store in the refrigerator.

All the best in making it!  It’s a bit of effort, but lots of fun and well worth it. 🙂 Enjoy!

Back soon.

–Naomi

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