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    Home > Blog Index

    Published: Aug 7, 2014 · Modified: Apr 21, 2022 by Helen S Fletcher · This post may contain affiliate links · 4 Comments

    Lemonade Cake with Blueberry Sauce

    Lemonade Cake
    I was once asked where creativity comes from. It can be found anywhere and everywhere. A pot of basil can inspire pesto but then what to do with it. Why turn it into a Goat Cheese Pesto Tart of course. A great dessert you tasted can make you think of what you would do with it – how you would tweak it.

    I always mean to start early when I have designed something on paper but not tested it in the kitchen. I usually don't. As the days counted down to the class, I tried every lemon mousse I could think of and made some up myself. In the end, I reverted to my go-to recipe for the most lemony of all fillings – lemon curd. It was a simple matter of folding in beaten egg whites and whipped cream to give the Lemonade Cake a smooth, luxurious feel in your mouth. There is just enough gelatin in the curd to have the mousse set up perfectly.

    The warm blueberry sauce is the perfect accompaniment. Everyone in the class loved the clean cut of this cake with the deep purple sauce running down the pale yellow sides of the Lemonade Cake.

    It is important to make the curd and let it cool until just barely cool at room temperature. If it gets to set, just put it in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds at a time until it is still thick and cool but will blend well with the meringue and whipped cream.

    Originally, I didn't bake the crust and you don't have to if you are going to eat it within a day. If you want to make it a few days ahead or simply want a crisper crust bake it, then cool it completely before continuing. I chose vanilla wafers over graham crackers for the crust because I felt the graham crackers would overpower the delicate mousse.

    I have to admit this Lemonade Cake is even better than I imagined.  So much so that I walked down to the kitchen one night when I couldn't sleep, cut a sliver of the cake and happily walked back up eating .   Now if I could only start testing earlier!

    Crustcrust ingred.1 ¼ cups vanilla wafer crumbs (about 40 wafers or 140 grams or 5 ounces)
    Rind of 1small lemon (about 2 teaspoons)
    4 tablespoons butter, melted

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

    The wafers may be processed to make crumbs or placed in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin until very fine.Cookies in processorMix the crumbs and the lemon rind to distribute the rind evenly.  Add the butter and mix with a fork.

    Crumbs and butter in a bowl

    Crust in bowl mixedPress into the bottom of a 9x3" cheesecake pan or springform pan. Crust in panPressing crust inIf baking, bake for 8 minutes. Cool completely.Baked crust

    Lemon Curd - For how to photos, use the ingredients listed below and see Lemony Gooey Buttercake in a Brioche Crust.
    1 tablespoon water
    1 ½ teaspoons gelatin
    2 whole eggs
    3 egg yolks
    ½ cup sugar (100 grams or 3 ½ ounces)
    ½ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed - do not use the bottle version
    1 stick cold butter, cut into 6 pieces (114 grams or 4 ounces)

    Dissolve the gelatin in the water. Set aside.

    Place the eggs and yolks in the top of a double boiler. Whisk to combine. Whisk in the sugar and lemon juice. Add the butter. Place over hot water and, stirring constantly, bring to 172 degrees on a candy thermometer. Tear the gelatin into small pieces and whisk into the curd (no need to liquefy it). Cover surface directly with film and let cool to room temperature.

    Lemon MousseMousse ingredients1 cup 40% or heavy cream
    2 egg whites (leftover from above)
    ¼ cup sugar (50 grams or 1 ¾ ounces)
    Lemon Curd

    Beat cream to medium peaks. Set aside.Cream beating

    In a clean bowl, whip the whites to the soft peak stage. Egg whites ready for sugarSlowly add the sugar and beat to medium peaks. Sugar inEgg whites inFold into the lemon curd. Egg whites inFolding whites inFold the cream in. Cream inFolding cream inPour over the crust Mousse - pouring in panMousse in pan

    spread out and smooth top.  Smoothing topMousse finishedChill 6 hours or overnight to firm up.

    Blueberry SauceBlueberry Sauce ingredients⅓ cup sugar (65 grams or 2 ounces)
    1 teaspoon cornstarch
    3 tablespoons water
    1 teaspoon lemon juice
    2 ½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries (12 ounce bag of frozen)

    Whisk the sugar and cornstarch; sugar and cornstarchSugar and cornstarch whiskedstir in the water and lemon juice and mix well.With wet ingredients.Wet ingred. mixed in Add the blueberries. Blueberries addedCook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Blueberry sauce on stoveContinue cooking and stirring for 2 minutes more.Sauce boiling

    Transfer to bowl and cool. Makes 3 cups.

    To serve, warm slightly.

    This can be made a week ahead and stored in the refrigerator. It is fantastic over pancakes or waffles if you have any leftover.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kim says

      August 09, 2014 at 9:32 am

      Helen, I'm so happy to be the recipient of your "testing". I love lemon and this sounds divine. Can't wait to try it on some girlfriends.

      Reply
      • hfletcher says

        August 10, 2014 at 7:24 pm

        Thanks Kim. I Love this combination - hope your friends to also.

        Reply
    2. Riki says

      August 09, 2014 at 5:03 am

      yum !!!

      Reply
      • hfletcher says

        August 09, 2014 at 5:50 am

        Thanks Riki.

        Reply

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