This is the horrible picture of what was left of the mousse after 30 minutes:
So my lemon mousse cake was a bit messier than the picture in the book...but every bit as delicious. It was a little better than lemon pudding, but not quite as spectacular as my first lemon mousse attempt. This is in the "Dressy Desserts" section of the cookbook (The Best of Heartsmart Cooking) so I knew I had my work cut out for me. It was only 3 layers, though, so there was hope.First you make the ladyfingers:
Eggs, separated
granulated sugar
vanilla
cream of tartar
cake flour
powdered sugar (I'd say optional...it doesn't really seem to serve a purpose in an already-sweet cake)
You need a very big baking sheet that can hold two 8-inch round layers of ladyfingers. It's kind of finicky, but you're supposed to take a large sheet of wax paper and trace the bottom of two 8-inch cake pans onto the surface of the paper. (Actually, it's better to make the circle about 8-and-a-half-inches...I'll explain below). Turn the paper upside-down on the large baking sheet. Then scrape the batter into a pastry bag and pipe discs by starting in the middle of the circle and spiraling out to the edge. Making a perfect circle is kind of important or you'll get a icicle-like protrusion in the side of your mousse cake and the mousse layers will fall around it. Or you just cut it off...nothing dire will come of it. It's just not as perfect. Actually, I didn't even pipe because I don't own a pastry bag and plastic doesn't work well. Mostly I thought I could get away with it because in the instructions it refers to another recipe but says you just follow those batter directions and then spread the batter evenly between the two circles. Ambiguous spreading instructions for such a perfect mousse cake...
Anyway, this is actually pretty easy to make:
Beat egg yolks, vanilla, and less than half the sugar for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes (don't skimp, says Alice).
Beat egg whites with cream of tartar at high speed until soft peaks form, then add remaining sugar until stiff peaks form.
Then fold a third of the whites into the yolk mixture
Add half the remaining whites and sift (don't dump) half the flour on top, and fold.
Then add remaining whites, sift remaining flour on top, and fold again.
The folding method is described in the book:
"Scrape a large scoop of batter up the side of the bowl. Lift it above the rest and let it fall gently back on top. Rotate the bowl and continue to cut, scrape, and lift batter without mixing, stirring, or smoothing. It may seem as if the parts will never come together, but they will [encouraging, Alice]. Scrape around the sides of the bowl from time to time and scrape the batter off the spatula with another spatula. Fold until barely combined."
A problem with this is sometimes you don't get a clean cut down into the mousse, and is it okay to cut through the part you just folded to the top? Or should that part be closer to the edge so you fold around it? I mean, it must be okay to cut through your just-folded sections or it'll never actually mix, but it seems so counter-intuitive to cut through the fluffiest part of the mousse.
I digress.
Optionally, sieve with powdered sugar.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, until just golden brown. I'd err on the side of less-golden so you mousse cake doesn't get too crisp or dry. Dry cake doesn't go well with soft mousse. When they're cool, peel off the wax paper. The layers didn't spread during baking so I hoped I'd done alright...
Then take a pastry brush and the tops of the layers with 2 tbsp of rum. Place one layer, rum-side up in a 9-inch springform pan (This way you can just remove the sides of the pan when you're ready to serve the mousse instead of trying to move a toppling structure to a serving dish). Then brush the bottom of the 2nd layer with another tbsp of rum and set it aside.
Make the lemon mousse:
This recipe I've given in another post...lemony pillows of air. Refrigerate it for at least 4 hours or you'll end up with mousse cake soup. Delicious, but not what I was going for.
This is the delicate part. Scrape half the mousse on top of the first ladyfinger layer in the 9-inch round pan. Spread the mousse to fill in between the pan and the layer. This is a problem if your ladyfinger layers didn't spread...apparently they're not supposed to spread, and yet somehow you're supposed to start with 8-inch cake circles of ladyfingers and end up with almost 9-inch circles when you put it all together. So make the layers a little bigger than 8-inch and then it'll be okay to extend the mousse off of the layers. It makes it a lot easier to even the sides of the mousse if you can use the springform cake pan to even it for you.
Now Alice says level the top of the mousse. She says she does this on a cake decorating turntable with a cake comb with a serrated edge...but you really don't need a turntable...and you really don't need a comb. Very overrated. She says you can also use a clean index card folded length-wise (to stiffen it). Hold the folded edge against the mousse while you rotate the cake. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least another four hours.
The last layer!! This gives the top of the cake a beautiful yellow colour, which makes the white mousse layer look very clean and smooth.
Gelatin
Cold water
Strained orange juice
strained lemon juice
sugar
Sprinkle the gelatin over the water in a small cup. Leave at least 1 minute without stirring (funny how some recipes she says this explicitly, but not all. Am I allowed to stir in the other recipes? I wouldn't dare, but it's a little bit of a bright red apple calling out to me...
When it's softened set the cup in a pan of barely simmering water (or microwave on high for 15 seconds...Wonder which one I chose?) to melt the gelatin.
Combine the contents of the cup with the orange juice, lemon juice and sugar, and stir to dissolve the sugar. Set aside until thickened...no time is given...but it should be syrupy. If it gets to thick set it in a pan of hot water (or microwave again for a few seconds on low. It really should be gently brought back to syrup and the microwave should stay out of this whole process. It feels so unnatural...but so convenient).
Since your mousse should be touching the edge of the sprinform pan, you just pour a thin coating of this lemon mixture on top and tilt the pan in every direction to spread evenly. If your mousse hasn't set enough, this is where you get soup...The ladyfinger layers need to stay in place and there should be no movement in the pan.
Chill at least 30 minutes to set.
To serve(!) use a hot, wet, wrung-out towel to warm the sides of the pan for about 30 seconds. CAREFULLY remove the sides of the pan.
A garnish would look really beautiful on top of this...a fresh sliced strawberry, or a few blackberries.
Despite the ragged appearance, it was still so good...
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