Moist lemon cake layers stacked with a smooth and flavorful lemon mousse! This lemon mousse cake is for any lemon lover and it will impress your guests for sure!
The softest lemon cake layered with a lemon mousse and decorated with a lemon jello topping!
How to make lemon mousse
The lemon mousse in this recipe is based on a flavorful homemade lemon curd. The lemon curd gives the mousse an intense flavor and color! You could use store bought lemon curd but it is so easy to make and tastes so much better if it is homemade! You could even double or triple the ingredients to make some extra for breakfast or as a gift!
After making the lemon curd there are only a few more steps to get a creamy lemon mousse! First off start with very cold heavy cream, a tall mixing bowl and a whisk attachment of a hand mixer to easily whip the cream. I usually start with the lowest speed setting and when the cream starts to set I move up to higher settings up to a medium high speed to get a thick cream. Powdered sugar helps to stabilize the cream and sweetens it a bit. Lemon extract adds an extra lemon burst!
When the whipped cream is whipped stiff mix in lemon curd on a low speed until combined. Then soak gelatin in water for 2 minutes and melt it in the microwave for 10 seconds. Mix it with a 1/4 cup of the lemon whipped cream and warm it for another 10 seconds. Mixing gelatin straight with the whipped cream leads to curdling of the gelatin but if you mix it with some of the mixture first it will be smoother. Now the cream is ready to be used!
These are the cheesecake pans that I always use in my recipe videos: Springform pan and Removable bottom pan
A 8 inch springform pan is the traditional choice to make most cheesecake recipes. I usually use it for no bake cheesecakes. For baked cheesecakes I prefer the removable bottom pan. It has the advantage of fitting a water bath snuggly around it.
Lemon Mousse Cake
Ingredients for 3 8-inch cake layers
For the lemon cake:
1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
1/2 cup (113 g) butter, softened
1 cup (200 g) white sugar
2 tsp lemon extract
4 large eggs
1 cup (240 ml) milk
2 1/2 cups (300 g) flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon zest (2 large lemons)
For the lemon mousse:
3 cups (720 ml) heavy cream, chilled
1 1/2 cups (195 g) powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon extract
4 tsp unflavored gelatin
2 tbsp water
yellow food coloring, optional
For the lemon curd:
2/3 cup (160 ml) freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2 large eggs
4 egg yolks
1 cup (200 g) white sugar
1/2 cup (113 g) butter
1 tsp vanilla
For the lemon jello:
3 oz package lemon jello
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup ice water
For the whipped cream:
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream
1/4 cup (33 g) powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 lemon for decoration
Check out my lemon cake tutorial while this one is in the making
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1:
Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease three baking pans and line them with parchment paper rounds. In a large mixing bowl combine sugar, butter, oil, vanilla, lemon extract and salt. Mix for about 4 minutes. The mixture should be very fluffy and lighter in color. Add eggs one by one. Mix it until it is completely incorporated. Add in freshly squeezed lemon juice and zest. Add the flour, baking powder and soda. You can combine it first in a separate bowl and incorporate it in 2 to 3 steps or mix in all at once. Mix in milk until everything is thoroughly incorporated but do not over mix it.
Step 2:
Divide the batter evenly among the pans. I like to use bake even strips. If you are using them add about 8 to 10 minutes to the baking time. Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each layer comes out clean. Cool the layers in the pans for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 3:
In the meantime make the lemon curd. In a large sauce pan combine eggs, egg yolks, lemon juice and sugar. Make sure to whisk it immediately after adding the juice to avoid curdling of the eggs. Then heat it over medium heat while mixing it constantly with a spatula for about 5 minutes or until it has thickened so that it lines the back of a spoon (see notes). Then strain it through a metal strainer to remove any pieces of egg. Mix in butter and vanilla. I like to use cold butter so it cools down the curd. Place it in the fridge or freezer to cool it down.
Step 4:
When the cake layers and curd have cooled down completely prepare everything to decorate the cake. Put a 6 inch high acetate cake collar around the first cake layer and place it on a cake plate. Prepare the piping bag for the mousse and separate 1/2 cup of lemon curd to spread on the cake layers. Spread lemon curd on all cake layers already to let them soak. To make the lemon mousse use a large and tall mixing bowl and combine very cold heavy cream, lemon extract and powdered sugar. Whip it until stiff peaks form at medium high speed. Add in the rest of the chilled lemon curd and mix it in on a low speed.
Step 5:
Bloom gelatin in water for 2 minutes then microwave it for 10 seconds and stir to see if it is melted completely. Mix in about 1/4 cup of the heavy cream mixture with the gelatin and microwave it for another 10 seconds. The more liquid is mixed with the gelatin the less likely it is to start curdling right away when adding it to the filling. Mix in the gelatin while whisking the filling on a low speed. You will see the filling to set right away. Keep mixing for about a minute until everything is mixed in equally and there are no big lumps.
Step 6:
Fill up a piping bag with the lemon filling and pipe a generous amount on top of the first cake layer. Make sure you spread lemon curd on each cake layer before you add the filling. It should be almost as thick as the cake layer. Then place the second cake layer on top. Press it down a bit to make sure there is no air trapped. At this point also check that the cake collar is really tight around the cake so the filling does not have space to cover the sides of the cake. You want it to be a naked cake. If it is not tight enough, tighten it at this point. Then fill up the piping bag and pipe a layer of filling on top of the second cake layer. Cover it with the last cake layer and last layer of filling. Smooth it out with a spatula to get an even surface. Make sure that the cake collar is clean from the sides as it is going to get a lemon jello topping. Place the cake in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Step 7:
To make the lemon jello use only half of the water amount stated on the packaging. Bring water to a boil and measure 1/2 cup. I like to use a glass measuring cup. Mix in the jello powder and mix until it is completely melted. Then to cool it down faster add in 1/2 cup of ice cold water. You can use ice cubes instead to speed up the process even more. Let it sit on the counter until it has reached room temperature. Make sure to stir it from time to time so it sets evenly.
Step 8:
When the lemon mousse has set use a spoon to gently add the lemon jello on top of the cake. Make sure nothing is leaking and then place it in the fridge for at least 40 minutes until the jello has set. In the meantime prepare the whipped cream. So in a tall mixing bowl mix together very cold heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. First use the lowest setting then slowly increase to a medium high. Then fill it into a piping bag with a star piping tip. I like to use a 6B piping tip. Cut up a lemon for decoration. When the jello has set or when you are ready to serve the cake pipe a random pattern of whipped cream dots on top of the cake and place some half slices of lemon on top. You could add more decoration like lemon zest or white chocolate and the cake is ready to be served!
Enjoy!
**Pro Tips**
To check if the lemon curd is thick enough mix it with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon and scrape down the center of the spoon with one finger. If the curd on the sides stays and does not run into the middle it has the perfect consistency!
I like to use the lower part of my fat daddios spring form pan to keep my cake collar tight around the cake. It is the perfect size to wrap around the cake collar and tighten it with tape on the bottom, middle and top of the seal. I also like to tighten it to the cake pan to make sure it does not move.
