One mouthful of this lemon curd mousse and you’ll be addicted. It’s creamy, it’s sweet, it’s zingy and it’s incredibly easy to make – starting with a simple lemon curd from scratch

This recipe uses my classic easy lemon curd as it’s base but you can change it up and use others as well – try this blood orange curd or maybe blackberry curd.

4 glasses filled with lemon mousse with spoons in front

Rich, decadent and creamy but somehow light, this mousse has a good punch of lemon flavour from fresh lemons. As it melts away on your tongue you’ll be swooning. So, if you’re a lemon lover, you’ll love this recipe.

What makes this lemon mousse easy?

A traditional lemon mousse includes raw egg whites, which are beaten and folded into the mixture. This recipe, skips that step and leaves the whites out altogether.

This makes for a denser mousse but still unbelievably delicious and it will still melt on your tongue the same way.

The other thing that makes this lemon mousse easy is you can use store-bought lemon curd if you really want to get this made super quick. In that case it will take you about 5 minutes. Hint: homemade lemon curd tastes a million times better though.

If you love this, you’ll love my lemon tiramisu as well.

A spoon topped with mousse

Ingredients for lemon mousse

This mousse uses just basic ingredients. While it does use eggs, they are cooked so no need to worry if you don’t like uncooked eggs.

Ingredients for lemon mousse on a marble background
Ingredients for lemon curd mousse
  • Lemon (1): You’ll need fresh lemons for this one – both the zest and the juice.
  • Cream (2): Thickened cream, heavy cream – it must be full fat.
  • Sugar (3): Just regular white sugar.
  • Eggs (4): The eggs are cooked into the curd base
  • Butter (5): The final ingredient in the curd base, it gives this a rich flavour.

How to make it

Photos showing how to make lemon curd mousse
Steps showing how to make lemon curd mousse
  1. The lemon curd: This takes less than 10 minutes on the stove top – you can see all my tips for lemon curd here but it truly is an incredibly simple recipe.
  2. Let it cool: The lemon curd needs to cool completely but the great part is you can make this a few days ahead of time.
  3. Turn it into mousse: Whip up cold cream (photo 1) until you reach stiff peaks, then gradually fold it, in parts, into the cold lemon curd (photos 2 & 3).
  4. Let it chill and set: Pipe the lemon mousse into glasses (photo 4) to save getting the tops all messy.

If you’d like to make this recipe go a bit further or want to lighten the texture and flavour, beat 2 egg whites until stiff peaks, then fold them into the already combined lemon mousse. Make sure to keep everything chilled right up until serving to keep those raw egg whites safe to eat.

Can I use store-bought lemon curd?

Technically yes, making this a 2 ingredient dessert, however I really urge you to make it from scratch. It really is so simple and takes less than 10 minutes.

How long will lemon mousse keep?

Store your mousse in the fridge, covered, for 2-3 days. The curd portion can be made ahead of time, also up to 2-3 days.

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4 glasses filled with mousse on a white platter

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A glass filled with mousse and lemon curd with spoons in front

Lemon Curd Mousse

Yield: 4 serves
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Setting time: 1 hour
Total Time: 20 minutes
5 from 2 ratings
This easy lemon mousse recipe is the perfect combination of tangy lemon, soft, creamy mousse and sweetness. Using lemon curd, this recipe takes less than 20 minutes of effort and just 5 ingredients.
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Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 200 g caster (superfine) sugar (1 cup / 7oz)
  • ½ cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest (notes 1)
  • 150 g unsalted butter, cubed and cold (5.3oz)
  • 1 ½ cups thickened (heavy) cream, cold (375ml)

For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided

Instructions
 

  • In a medium saucepan, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, zest and juice. Stir over low-medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
  • Add the cold butter 3 cubes at a time, stirring until each addition is melted and incorporated.
  • Continue cooking the mixture for 4-5 minutes until it is thickened and coats the back of a spoon or leaves a thick coating on the side of the pan when you tilt it.
  • Strain into a bowl and let it cool to room temperature, then chill for 2-3 hours until cold.
  • In a medium bowl, beat the cold cream to stiff peaks.
  • Place 1 cup of lemon curd into a clean bowl, then mix through ⅓ of the whipped cream.
  • Fold the remaining cream, in two separate parts, into the lemon curd – make sure to just use a gentle folding action – until incorporated.
  • Pipe the mousse into glasses and top with 2 teaspoons of lemon curd. Leave to set in the fridge for 1-2 hours or overnight.

Notes

  1. I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons)
  2. The lemon curd will be more than you need. Keep any remainder in a preserving jar in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
  3. The lemon curd can be made in advance.
  4. The mousse can be made 2-3 days in advance.
For more puddings and desserts, click here
Calories: 619kcal
Author: Marie Roffey
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Have you tried this recipe?Don’t forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.