Frozen Lemon Mousse with Blueberry Wine

On Saturday, I had a bit of a dessert predicament. I'd pledged to bring dessert to my wine club's first blind tasting, and I needed something that wouldn't feel too heavy after all that wine, something refreshing in the heat, and something that could travel about 25 minutes without melting too much. I also didn't want to make cheesecake, which my husband hates, or cupcakes, just because I wanted to try something new.

So after a lot of thinking, I landed on the right idea: Real Simple's frozen lemon mousse. I was partially motivated because I wanted to make something that would pair well with blueberry wine.

The hardest part of this recipe is making sure you have 2 hours to allow it to chill. Otherwise, I thought it was very easy.

In a saucepan, combine 1/4 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice, five tablespoons of sugar and four egg yolks (you should have seen me trying to separate eggs...always entertaining). Stir the mixture for about five minutes on medium low heat.

When the mixture is warm, pour it through a strainer into a large bowl. This way, it will remove the inevitable clumps.

Immediately add 4 tablespoons of chilled butter, cut into cubes, and stir until the butter is all melted. When the mixture is smooth, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and then put it in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

During that time, I poured 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream in the bowl of my electric mixer and with the speed turned way up (about 4), let it whip until the cream had stiff peaks. It was like watching a fun science experiment!

 When the mixture was chilled, I folded the whipped cream in and when it was well-mixed, I was able to pour the mixture into seven ramekins, which went promptly into the freezer for two hours.

For wine club, I served the lemon mousse with a spoonful of blueberry wine. It was tart and sweet and refreshing. An airy dessert like that is perfect for a hot day, and I really loved it.