magic mousse. [lemon yogurt mousse w. blueberry sauce]

Whenever I’m bored, I often find myself flipping through cooking magazines or browsing the Internet for new and delicious recipes. My mom bought me two magazines filled with recipes ranging from gourmet desserts to simple appetizers.

I wanted to make this lemon yogurt mousse with blueberry sauce the instant I saw the picture and read the recipe in The Best of America’s Test Kitchen magazine.

The dessert turned out exactly as I’d hoped, with a deliciously light and fluffy texture and flavor. The subtle tartness of the lemon and Greek yogurt juxtaposed the sweet bottom layer of the blueberry sauce. It’s a spectacular dessert that doesn’t require consuming hundreds of calories just to satisfy a sweet tooth.

Blueberry sauce recipe:

3/4 cup fresh blueberries, about 4 oz.

2 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp. water

Pinch salt

Directions:

Bring the blueberries, sugar, water and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook until the sugar is dissolved and the fruit is heated through, about 2 to 4 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth, about 20 seconds. Strain the puree through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing on the solids to extract as much puree as possible (you should have about 1/2 cup). Spoon the sauce evenly into six 4 oz. ramekins and refrigerate until chilled, about 20 minutes.

Lemon yogurt recipe:

3 tbsp. water

3/4 tsp. unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup whole milk Greek yogurt

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 tsp. grated lemon zest

3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

Directions:

Pour the water into a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the top, and set aside to let the gelatin hydrate for 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt, heavy cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and salt together until smooth. Set aside.

The rest of the ingredients and directions follow, under lemon mousse recipe.

Lemon mousse recipe:

3 large egg whites

6 tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Directions:

Whisk the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar together in a large bowl. Set the bowl over a large saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Heat the mixture, whisking constantly, until it has tripled in size and registers about 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 5 to 10 minutes.

Off the heat, quickly whisk in the hydrated gelatin until melted. Whip the warm mixture with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until it forms stiff, shiny peaks, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the yogurt mixture and continue to whip until just combined, 30 to 60 seconds.

Divide the mousse evenly among the chilled ramekins with the blueberry sauce, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled and set, 6 to 8 hours. Serve chilled.