Colombian lemon mousse (esponjado de limón)

2016. The lemon mousse and the 1st anniversary of Foodógrafo

If someone asked me for life advice, I would always say: do things that you are passionate about, so you can be happy. Make time for your dreams. Work on them. I do not want to sound like a person who gives you self-help speeches, but although sometimes it does not seem like it, life is full of good things. Someone will surely tell me that not always doing things that you like is quite possible, because you have certain responsibilities that you cannot miss and you must sacrifice something to get something as well. But I am an example of a possibility. My main job for years no longer has the same charm as when I started. That could be defined like today I am a frustrated man today. However, I must confess that rather the opposite happens to me. In the absence of a job that gives me excitement, the rest of the day I manage to incorporate things that make me very happy. For many years I keep doing it and these activities vary over time and others remain static, but after all, I am happy.

I draw in my life what is most important, so that in the summary of the week, the month or the year I can say: it has been worth living like this. And I understand more and more that each one of us has a version of happiness: some dream about a beautiful family with children and pets, others with professional success and with becoming directors or presidents of a company someday. Others, perhaps less ambitious, have decided that traveling is a fundamental part of our lives so that we can dream of knowing a great part of the world while we can and try all the new dishes that we find on the way.

And people will think (does it really matter?) why I’m so happy. This is my answer: when I dream something I achieve it. I dreamed of running a marathon and I did it. I dreamed of living outside of Venezuela, and I could. And I still have a long list of dreams that I want to fulfill. Sometimes I’m slow, I confess, but I finally get the energy I do not know from where (maybe I get the impulse from Jorge or a friend) and I throw myself into the water. Maybe there’s some arrogance, but I’m not going to be defeated. One of those components that I feel in these moments of my life of so much joy, is to have been able to start Foodógrafo. I am never tired of repeating it. It makes me too happy. And today I can say that this project that started “publicly” on April 23, 2016, this Sunday is a year.

So to blow the first candle of Foodógrafo, we encourage ourselves at home to prepare a delicious dessert from Jorge’s aunt Clara Ines: the fantastic lemon mousse with a great sweet sauce that is a fantastic combination. Enjoy this recipe as much as I enjoy publishing it and sharing it with you.

Cheers!

The recipe of the Lemon Mousse (Colombian dessert)

For 8 people (or for a very sweet- lover person)

Ingredients:

For the mousse:

1 cup of lemon juice (use 100 ml lemon juice and 100 ml water)

1 can of condensed milk

3 egg whites

2 sachets of unflavored gelatin (sachets of 7.5 g each)

For the sweet sauce:

1 can of condensed milk

2 cans of evaporated milk

3 egg yolks without the egg whites

1 tsp (teaspoon) of vanilla extract

What do I do?

For the mousse:

1 I dissolve the gelatin in 10 tablespoons of water at room temperature and heat 30 seconds in the microwave.

2 I beat the whites until stiff (using medium speed).

3 I add the condensed milk, lemon juice and unflavored gelatin without being dissolved in the stiffed egg whites and manually blend until all the ingredients are integrated.

4 I pour the mixture into a wet mold with a little water and put it in the refrigerator for about 4 hours in order to set it well. For this dessert I usually use a high metal mold, but you can use one of glass.

5 I remove it from the refrigerator. I demold by immersing the mold briefly in hot water (maximum 5 seconds). Lemon peel is grated over the mold. I can decorate with a lemon on top.

For the sweet sauce:

1 I put all the ingredients in a pot and mix lightly with a wooden trowel.

2 I Heat the ingredients on medium-low heat until they boil. When boiling under low heat for 3-5 minutes, I let them cool (while it is hot it does not appear to be very thick but when cooled it takes the correct consistency).

Once ready, I serve and add tablespoons of the sauce to combine with the mousse. It’s delicious!!!

Super important tip: Unmold the mousse just when you will serve it or at least leave it in the refrigerator, because it is a cold dessert and melts with the heat.

As always I invite you to support my dream following my account on instagram: @ food.o.grafo or contact me by hola@foodografo.com

You can see this recipe in Spanish here:

Esponjado de limón