Lemon or Key Lime Pudding and Mousse

[tiva]

I've been experimenting with pudding and mousse recipes, and modified some old favorites to come up with the following. They make a good base for a pie too:

First you make the curd, the basis for everything else:

1/2 cup lemon or key lime juice (fresh squeezed is better, but the jarred Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Juice is excellent and now in most supermarkets). Add a teaspoon of the zest if you use fresh fruit.
2/3 to 1 cup splenda (or equivalent). The amount depends on how much you love tart sweets--most people will probably prefer 1 cup if you're using key lime juice.
3 egg yolks

Stir these together very well, and heat over VERY low heat, stirring all the time, until the curd thickens. This takes about 5 minutes, but be careful not to let it boil. I use a rubber spatula to stir it, so I can keep stuff from overcooking on the sides of the pan. You can use a double-boiler, or just a pan on VERY low heat. Chill--it will set more as it cools.

For pudding or pie filling:
1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped. Once the curd is cooled, fold this in, and put the pudding into 4 little dessert cups, and chill a little longer. Makes 4 1/2 cup servings of very delicious, light pudding, much like the filling of key lime pie.

For mousse:
1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped
2 egg whites, beaten separately in a CLEAN, non-plastic bowl until they hold soft peaks.

Fold these together very gently with the chilled curd, and chill again in little dessert cups until you're ready to serve it. If you have a depressed immune system, you probably don't want to take the chance of eating raw egg whites, in which case you can beat the egg whites as above, then use them in a baked lemon or lime meringue pie (bake for 10 minutes)

The curd on its own is also delicious as a topping for berries.

The pudding would be a good basis for lemon ice cream.

[Seattlegirl]

This sounds great! I'm looking forward to trying it.

[auntie3]

Sounds Yummy!!