Lemon Cheesecake Mousse
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Soft, light and delicious, this lemon mousse is the ultimate spring summer dessert. Made with a graham cracker base and a smooth, silky and luscious whipped cheesecake topping, it’s pretty hard to resist!
Creating This Cheesecake Lemon Mousse
Could there be a better spring dessert?? In my opinion, this lemon cheesecake mousse is hard to top! It’s three of my favorite things in one bright, luscious, rich, heavenly dessert! I absolutely love cheesecake, I love lemon-flavored everything and I could eat mousse for breakfast lunch and dinner.
So, what I’m getting at is this dessert was made for me, quite literally :). I originally had tried another lemon mousse recipe earlier this week (this one here) that I thought I’d love.
The flavor was oh so fresh and lemony, buuuut the texture was nothing like what I think of mousse to be. It was more of a droopy whipped cream texture with just a little more density to it.
So of course I set of to come up with my own easy mousse recipe so I could end satisfied with a perfect lemon mousse, one worthy of sharing here (yes, I am picky about what I’ll share, there are many things that don’t make the cut. If I didn’t feel it was worth my time and ingredients then why should it be worth yours?).
I asked my mom to try one bite, she insisted on just one bite since she was trying to eat less dessert, but of course after one bite she continued to polish the whole whole thing off.
I’d reach in the fridge too intending on just one bite, but it never ends there. No one will be able to resist these! Try them and you’ll see what I mean.
Want to see how easy this Cheesecake Lemon Mousse recipe is? Watch the video!
This Lemon Cheesecake Mousse is everything I’d hoped it would be an then some — even though it does use a store-bought lemon curd (which have you added to a s’more yet? It’s dreamy times one thousand! Just graham cracker, fire roasted marshmallow and a generous slathering of lemon curd as done here).
Lemon Mousse Ingredients
- Lemon juice
- Gelatin
- Heavy cream
- Cream cheese
- Lemon curd
- Yellow food coloring (optional)
These individual mousse cups would be perfect for Easter and Mother’s Day, or for any get together for that matter.
And of course they are also perfect for a weekend treat! I made these just a few days ago and I’m already dreaming about when I’ll be able to make them again (I’m glad Easter is coming up soon!).
How to Make Mousse From Scratch
- Whisk together graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter and stir. Divide among dessert cups and press into an even layer.
- Combine water, lemon juice and gelatin in a small bowl and let rest 5 minutes.
- Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form.
- Add in part of the powdered sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.
- In a separate bowl, whip cream cheese until fluffy. Mix in the lemon curd and remaining powdered sugar.
- Heat gelatin mixture in the microwave and whisk to dissolve the gelatin.
- Slowly pour the gelatin mixture into the cream cheese mixture. Blend to combine.
- Fold the whipped cream mixture into the cream cheese mixture.
- Spoon mousse into dessert cups over graham cracker layer. Refrigerate 2 hours to set, then garnish as desired.
How to Serve Lemon Mousse
This cheesecake lemon mousse should be served cold. Keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it for best results. I topped my lemon cheesecake mousse with lemon slices, sweetened whipped cream, mint leaves, and fresh berries as well.
Can I Use Granulated Sugar Instead of Powdered?
No, powdered sugar is a must for this mousse recipe. Granulated sugar wouldn’t dissolve completely in the cheesecake mousse and would result in a grainy texture.
Do I Have to Use Food Coloring?
Not if you don’t want to! The yellow food coloring just adds more color to this lemon mousse, but it can be omitted if desired.
Tips for the Best Cheesecake Lemon Mousse
- The gelatin mixture shouldn’t be allowed to cool more than 3 minutes, otherwise it may start to set. Then you could end up with little lumps in the mousse.
- For the freshest, brightest flavor, use freshly squeezed lemon juice and not the stuff in the bottle.
- Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature, otherwise it won’t whip up properly.
More Easy Mousse Recipes You’ll Love:
- Easy Chocolate Mousse Pie
- Raspberry Cheesecake Mousse
- Praline Pumpkin Mousse
- Nutella Cheesecake Mousse
- Mint Chip Cheesecake Mousse
- S’mores Mousse
- Easy Chocolate Mousse
Follow Cooking Classy
Lemon Cheesecake Mousse
Ingredients
Crust
- 3/4 cup crushed graham crackers (6 full sheets)
- 2 Tbsp (26g) granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp (42g) salted butter, melted
Mousse
- 2 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 Tbsp water
- 1 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin powder
- 1 1/2 cups (355ml) heavy cream
- 1 cup (110g) powdered sugar, divided
- Yellow food coloring (optional)
- 12 oz (340g) cream cheese, softened
- 1 (10 oz) jar lemon curd (tested with Dickenson's)
- Sweetened whipped cream , lemon wedges, blueberries and mint for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl whisk together graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Pour in butter and stir until evenly moistened. Divide mixture among 8 - 10 dessert cups and lightly press into an even layer, set aside.
- Pour lemon juice and water into a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin evenly over top, let rest 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whip heavy cream in a medium mixing bowl until soft peaks form.
- Add in 1/3 cup of the powdered sugar, tint with yellow food coloring if desired and whip until stiff (but not lumpy) peaks form (shake cream from beaters, no need to clean).
- In a separate large mixing bowl whip cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Mix lemon curd and remaining 2/3 cup powdered sugar into cream cheese mixture.
- Heat rested gelatin mixture in the microwave on high power for 30 seconds. Whisk for 1 minute to thoroughly dissolve gelatin, then let cool 3 minutes (no longer or it may start to set then you could end up with little lumps in the mousse).
- While mixing cream cheese mixture with hand mixer, slowly pour in gelatin mixture then blend until thoroughly combined.
- Gently fold 1/3 of the whipped cream mixture into the cream cheese mixture to lighten, then add remaining whipped cream and gently fold until combined.
- Spoon or pipe mixture into dessert cups over graham cracker layer. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours (or up to 1 day ahead if desired) to set. Garnish as desired. Serve cold.
Notes
- Calories based on 10 servings.
- The gelatin mixture shouldn't be allowed to cool more than 3 minutes, otherwise it may start to set. Then you could end up with little lumps in the mousse.
- For the freshest, brightest flavor, use freshly squeezed lemon juice and not the stuff in the bottle.Â
- Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature, otherwise it won't whip up properly.Â