Lemon
Mousse Tart in a Gingersnap Crust
The past couple of weeks have been pretty
frantic work-wise, with work over-flowing into my evenings and weekends (and
encroaching on my time on the tennis court). Which doesn’t leave a lot of time
for blogging, either. I was determined to put up a post
today, though, so I
chose to make a super-simple dessert that I love, Lemon Mousse Tart in a
Gingersnap Crust. The crust is nothing more than gingersnap crumbs and melted
butter, patted into a tart pan and baked for a short time. The mousse is a
simple lemon curd
cooked on the stove, chilled, and then combined with whipped
cream. The trick to lemon curd is to make sure you cook it long enough so that
the yolks thicken, without over-cooking it and causing the mixture to curdle.
(If you do over-cook it slightly, any
bits of cooked egg should get strained
out when you pass the curd through the fine-mesh sieve.) A small amount of
gelatin gives the mousse some body and keeps it from falling apart when sliced.
I don’t like to add too much though, as the beauty of this mousse, aside from
its ease of preparation, is its velvety texture, and gelatin has a way of
turning velvet to rubber.
Makes 8 servings
Gingersnap
Crust:
1 2/3 cups (227 g) gingersnap crumbs
5 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter,
melted
Lemon
Mousse:
3 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon powdered gelatin
6 large egg yolks
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
2/3 cup (161 g) freshly squeezed lemon
juice
Pinch of salt
8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter,
cold and cut into cubes
1 tablespoon (6 g) finely grated lemon
zest
1 cup (232 g) heavy cream
Make
the crust:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a bowl,
combine the gingersnap crumbs and melted butter. Pat the crumb mixture onto the
bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet
and bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a wire
rack.
Make
the mousse:
2. Put the water in a small cup and
sprinkle over the gelatin. Let stand to soften while you make the filling.
3. In a medium saucepan, whisk together
the yolks, sugar, lemon juice and salt. Add the butter and cook over medium
heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 7 to 10 minutes
(do not let the mixture boil, or it will curdle). The mixture should leave a
path on the back of a wooden spoon when you draw your finger across it. Remove
the pan from the heat and whisk in the softened gelatin, whisking until
dissolved. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing
it through with a rubber spatula. Whisk in the lemon zest.
4. Set the bowl containing the lemon
mixture in a large mixing bowl filled one-third of the way with ice water (be
careful that the water doesn’t splash into the lemon mixture). Stir the lemon
mixture frequently until it is slightly chilled, about 15 minutes.
5. In the bowl of an electric mixer
fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream to medium peaks. Gently fold
the cream into the chilled lemon curd. Scrape the mousse into the cooled crust,
smoothing the top. Refrigerate the tart for at least 4 hours before serving.
