Lemon Cheesecake Mousse

Mousse is my latest favorite dessert to try, this one was my third.  First it was blueberry then peanut butter and now lemon curd.  When made small they are great for travel, parties, to keep your portion size down, and in this case it felt light and refreshing even though it was cream cheese, lemon curd and whipped cream.  The lemon curd dominated but the whipped cream did lighten it up.  It was good but I'm thinking I would like it a bit more tart and a bit less sweet so the next time I reduced the powdered sugar in the whipping cream from ⅓ C and removed the ⅔ C. from the mousse all together and instead of lemon juice and water I used 4 T. fresh OJ vs. 2 ½ lemon and 1½ water because I didn't have lemon juice and I added the salt. Originally I only used 2 T. butter so the graham crust stayed loose which was OK but not expected when I added 3 it was a bit more together but more isn't needed. I did however double the amound of graham crumbs in order to make more small cups. I froze two to see how this works and I also put them in the 2 oz. disposable cups, great for a party.


LEMON CHEESECAKE MOUSSE
Crust:
1 ½ C. crushed graham crackers (12 full sheets)
4 T. sugar
6 T. butter
⅛ t. salt
Whipped Cream:
1 ½ C. heavy cream
2 T. powdered sugar
Mousse:
4 T. fresh lemon juice
1 ½ t. unflavored gelatin powder (½ t. shy of full pkg.)
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
10 oz. jar lemon curd
⅔ C. powdered sugar

With a muddler or the back of a large wooden spoon, crush graham crackers in a small bowl. Add sugar, mix. In another small bowl, microwave butter for 30 seconds. Pour butter oven graham crackers and stir. Spoon 1 tablespoon of crumbs into each 2 oz. dessert cup, press. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix lemon juice and water. Sprinkle gelatin evenly over top. Let rest 5 minutes.

Meanwhile in a stand mixer whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar, whip until stiff but not lumpy. Scrape whipping cream from bowl and move to another bowl. To the mixer (no need to wash) add cream cheese and whip until smooth and fluffy. Add lemon curd. Mix until smooth. Heat rested gelatin mixture in the microwave on high for 30 seconds. Whisk for 1 minute to thoroughly dissolve gelatin, let cool 3 minutes (no longer or it may start to set leaving you with a lumpy mousse). While mixing cream cheese, slowly add gelatin and blend to combined. Gently fold in ⅓ of the whipped cream into cream cheese, then fold in the rest. Spoon or pipe 1 T. of mousse into dessert cups over graham cracker crust. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours to 1 day ahead to set or freeze. Serve cold. Makes 40 (2 oz.) servings.

Variations: 

Use boxed graham cracker crumbs instead of crackers. It's a smoother texture, good but I may like the broken crackers better.

Instead of lemon juice and water use all freshly squeezed orange juice.

For more tartness try all lemon juice and no water

Do Ahead: Make and freeze. They thaw quickly so it is a perfect make ahead treat and good for travel.

Mousse: Mousse incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture. It can range from light and fluffy to creamy and thick, depending on preparation. A mousse may be sweet or savory. Dessert mousses are typically made with whipped egg whites or whipped cream flavored with chocolate, coffee, caramel, puréed fruits or various herbs and spices, such as mint or vanilla.