Lemon Mousse… decadent and sweet! Five easy ingredients make the silkiest and sweetest mousse. I love lemon desserts in the summer and this Easy Lemon Mousse is decadent and rich and light all at the same time! If you love lemon, try my Lemon Ooey Gooey Cookies! (I bet Dad would love this mousse for Father’s Day!)
Easy Lemon Mousse
A classic lemon mousse needs quite a few ingredients, for you to spend time at the stove stirring constantly, and chilling time in between steps. While there’s nothing quite like a true lemon mousse from scratch, sometimes you just need a quick and totally effortless dessert. And I am all about easy peasy delicious desserts!
What is Lemon Mousse?
A lemon mousse from scratch is usually made from eggs and heavy cream with quite a bit fresh lemon juice. It is subtle and creamy and usually has a flavor component of tart along with the sweet. This recipe is still subtle and sweet, but takes just 5 minutes! You still get the smooth and creamy melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness of a traditional lemon mousse, only spend a fraction of the time in your kitchen!
How to Make Lemon Mousse
This easy lemon mousse takes just five minutes to make. Real lemon juice, as well as extract, are what gives this mousse such amazing flavor.
When making this quick lemon mousse recipe, you’ll want to make sure your cream cheese is lump-free. This means beating it at room temperature.
To quickly get the cream cheese to room temperature I will remove the cream cheese from the box but keep it in the foil packaging. Set the cream cheese in a bowl of hot water and let it warm slowly. This usually takes about 15 minutes. Or you can set it out in the morning and let it warm to room temperature on the counter.
To make this simple dessert look pretty, I top it with a bit of whipped cream and a small wedge of lemon. You can also sprinkle with shortbread crumbs and add a spring of fresh mint for an extra fancy touch!
Can I Make the Whipped Topping From Scratch?
You sure can! Just take 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and add 1-2 tablespoons of confectioners sugar. Whip the heavy whipping cream for a couple of minutes with your hand-held mixer until there are soft peaks. Sprinkle the confectioner’s sugar over top and keep mixing on high until there are stiff peaks. I do recommend using a large bowl to avoid splatter.
How Long Can You Keep Lemon Mousse in the Fridge?
If the mousse is covered, it should last about 3 days in the refrigerator. I do recommend adding garnish right before serving. However, this recipe makes 3-4 servings depending on how big your serving dish is, so if you are serving a crowd you may want to double or triple it.
How to Make Individual Lemon Mousse Cheesecakes
Here is where that shortbread crust comes into play! Simply crush up shortbread cookies and place them in the bottom of the serving cup. I love shortbread cookies (and have a great recipe for shortbread cookies here) so wanted a nice thick layer, but when testing we found that a thinner layer was best. The dishes I used were a bit larger (they hold about 1 1/2 cups of lemon mousse) so I was only able to make 3 servings. Plan accordingly if you are feeding a crowd! 🙂
How to Use Lemon Mousse as a Cake Filling
There is no need to make any changes to this recipe to use it in a cake. (Some folks add gelatin, but I have had success without it.) Simple pipe a wall of your frosting (I prefer Buttercream) around the edge of the cake. Fill the center of the cake with the lemon mousse making sure it is as tall as the piped frosting. Set your next cake layer on top and press down slightly to remove any excess air or space. Again, (sorry to sound like a broken record here) you may need to double the recipe if you are building a tall layer cake.
Creamy No Bake Desserts
Lemon Mousse
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (340 g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (225 g) confectioners' sugar
- 1 medium lemon, juiced (about ¼ cup)
- pinch kosher salt
- 1 cup (238 g) whipped topping, plus more for garnish
- lemon wedges, for garnish
- 1 cup finely crushed shortbread cookies, plus more for garnish, optional step
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until it is light and fluffy.
- Add in the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and salt and beat until everything is combined.
- Gently fold in the whipped topping.
- IF YOU ARE ADDING THE SHORTBREAD CRUST: Divide crushed shortbread cookies between 4 dessert cups. (This step is optional)
- Equally divide lemon mousse into cups and refrigerate uncovered until thickened, (about 1 hour up 24 hours).
- When ready to serve, top with remaining whipped topping and lemon wedges.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
I have a question regarding the amount of the whipped cream topping. In the recipe portion it states use 1 cup of whipped cream topping. Above there is a substitution saying whip 1 cup of cream, which would produce a much larger volume that the 1 cup of whipped topping. Would you please clarify?
I made this today. I used mascarpone instead of cream cheese, because I love mascarpone. I whipped it and then I added the powdered sugar and lemon juice and whipping cream and whipped all of that up until it was thick. I like to weigh my ingredients when possible so I weighed out 225 g of powdered sugar. But first I used the tare option to tare out the weight of the bowl. 225 g is more like 2 cups. I used about half of it. I also added about half a teaspoon of lemon extract to accentuate the lemon flavor. It turned out yummy!
Can I triple recipe.
Add gram cracker pie crust?
Or just put it in a serving bowel?
Thank
Deb
Yes, you can do all those things. 🙂
Can I make this 2 week ahead and freeze?
I have not ever frozen it so cannot speak to that.
Same recipe as cheese cake
Do you have Vegan dessert recipes
I do not, sorry
I love a very tart lemon taste, especially if I can find a lemon meringue recipe. Is this lemon mousse not going to be tart…at all?
What a delicious receipe!
I tried it tonite for first time and just sent it in text to my sister in Fl.I left out cookies. Much better than pudding.
Thanks.
Can whipped cream be substituted for the whipped topping?
Yes, they are the same thing. 🙂
If I make whipped cream from scratch, is it one cup of cream and then whip it or is it one cup of the whipped cream after it is made.
Hi, Leslie! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. It is one cup of the heavy whipping cream before you make it. Have a great day!