It’s spring — the season for airing out the house, splashing in puddles with rubber boots, and delighting in light, luscious desserts.
Ah, yes. Light, luscious desserts … like this cultured lemon cheesecake mousse!
It’s fluffy and billowy and bursting with lemon, so it’s the perfect way to usher in spring blossoms and celebrate the scent of flowering trees on every corner.
This dessert is also one of my favorites because it’s delightfully simple to make. I absolutely adore cheesecakes, but I usually don’t have the time to make them.
This cheesecake mousse, however, takes mere minutes to make and is never baked, so the cultured ingredients are kept fresh and thriving.
It also makes a delightful stand-in for cake filling or for dolloping on top of strawberry shortcake!
So what are you waiting for? Whip up a batch of this cultured lemon cheesecake mousse today and say hello to spring!
Know Your Ingredients
This cultured lemon cheesecake mousse features a number of probiotic-rich cultured dairy ingredients — including sour cream and cream cheese. Check out our Cultured Dairy eCourse to easily learn how to make these simple, nourishing ingredients (and more) on a regular basis.
Also, this mousse calls for sugar. If you desire, leave it out for a refreshingly tart sugar-free treat. However, the sugar here not only adds sweetness — it also provides a structure for the mousse to grow and billow, so know that the mixture will be just slightly denser without it. Still, delicious either way!
Cultured Lemon Cheesecake Mousse
Light, luscious desserts … like this cultured lemon cheesecake mousse! It takes mere minutes to make and is never baked, so the cultured ingredients are kept fresh and thriving. It also makes a delightful stand-in for cake filling or for dolloping on top of strawberry shortcake!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese or cream cheese (such as Nancy’s brand or homemade), or yogurt cheese; softened
- 3/4 cup powdered evaporated cane juice or other crystalline sweetener*
- 1/2 cup cultured sour cream or yogurt cheese**
- 3/4 cup lemon curd or the juice from 2 large lemons
- 2 tablespoon lemon zest zest from 2 lemons
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
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Beat mascarpone, cream cheese, or yogurt cheese until fluffy with an electric mixer. Scrape down sides of mixer if necessary.
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Add powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and no lumps remain. With the motor running, add the sour cream.
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Reduce speed to low and add the lemon curd or lemon juice. Stir slowly to keep the mixture from splashing (especially if you’ve used lemon juice), and mix until all is homogenous. Add lemon zest.
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Scrape down sides once again, and slowly drizzle in the cream with the mixer on low. Stir for a minute, then slowly increase speed to high and beat until cream is fluffy and billowing.
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Scrape cheesecake mousse into a large serving bowl or into individual serving bowls. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
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The mixture can be made up to 24 hours in advance, but will settle slightly unless you stabilize it with gelatin.
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To serve, top with additional lemon zest, fresh raspberries, crispy pecans, or additional lemon curd. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Do you have any favorite cultured desserts?
This post was featured in 51 Cold Summer Desserts.
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Kresha, this sounds delicious. I also love cheesecake but often am not in the mood for its “heaviness”. One question. About how much quantity does this make once it’s all whipped up? I don’t have a stand mixer, so my choices are to use an immersion blender with a large bowl, my food processor, or my Vitamix blender. I’m wondering if the finished amount is too much for my food processor or Vitamix to hold.
That’s a great question! Hmmm… I would say it at least doubles in volume as it whips up, so 8-9 cups should be a safe estimate.
And I would say the first steps would be best in a food processor, since the beginning is quite thick, but once the cream is added in, the blender would do a much better job.
Either way, enjoy! 🙂