Lemony white chocolate mousse with lemon curd and buttercrumb
This recipe isn’t sickeningly sweet – the mousse is very light with a fresh lemon vibe. The curd is lovely and zingy so it cuts through the creaminess nicely. You’ve got great textures going on in every mouthful with the crunchy crumb, light silky mousse and rich curd. Just heavenly. And not hard to make, either!
I may have been a tad heavy handed on the curd in this shot – maybe about half that amount would suffice.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
Mousse & crumb
250g good-quality white chocolate
100ml cream
250g good quality shortbread biscuits
50g butter, melted
Zest of 2 lemons
4 egg whites
1 cup cream, whipped
Lemon & lime curd
2 free-range egg yolks
1 free-range egg
1/2 cup lemon juice
Zest of 4 lemons
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1/2 cup sugar
35g butter, cubed
Method
Preheat the oven to 180c.
Heat a peeler under hot running water and shave about 1/3 cup of chocolate off the block to use as garnish later.
Place the broken up chocolate and liquid cream in a heatproof bowl (Pyrex or ceramic) over a pot of simmering water (not touching the water). Stir until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside to come to room temperature. You’ll need the bowl and pot again for the curd, so rinse them out.
To make the crumb, crumble the biscuits to a course crumb (in a food processor or smashing in a bag with a rolling pin), and mix in the butter, lemon zest, and a small pinch of salt. Spread on to a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until only just starting to turn golden (keep a close eye on it). Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form – the egg white hanging off the beater should be firm, but still bend back over itself at the tips. If you over beat the eggs whites, they can go a funny grainy texture and collapse.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture (which should be at room temperature or a little cooler – if it’s too warm it will melt the cream) until just combined. Gently fold in the egg whites until well combined.
Spoon the mousse mixture into serving glasses or bowls, and leave in the fridge for an hour or more to set.
To make the curd whisk the sugar, citrus juices, zests and eggs in a heatproof bowl to combine. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir for 10-15 minutes until thickened. Whisk the butter in one cube at a time. Cool to room temperature.
To serve, spoon some lemon curd (about 2 tbsp) on the mousse and top and swirl to coat. Top with a good sprinkle of the butter crumb. Finish with the chocolate shavings. Dig in and devour!