Hello Cello: Homemade Limoncello Mousse

With spring here and summer just around the corner, citrus flavors are starting to pop back into my head for food and drink recipes. And this limoncello mousse that Anissa whipped up is the perfect one to start with because it involves booze! And that is always okay in my book.

This homemade limoncello mousse recipe is perfect for spring and summer dinner parties – light and refreshing. Yum! We made our own limoncello, for the mousse just to get fancy (in all honesty it was really easy to make), but you can purchase it at specialty stores already made as well, if you want to go that route.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own…

Ingredients for Limencello Mousse:

• 2 cups of whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1/2 cup of limoncello (homemade or store-bought)
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 cup of sugar

Instructions:

Pour 1 cup of whipping cream, the limoncello, and the vanilla into a sauce pan and let the mixture come to a simmer on medium low heat. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until well combined.

Add the cream mixture in a slow steady stream to the egg yolk mixture, while continuously stirring.

Next, pour the mixture back into the sauce pan, heat on medium low heat stir until the mixture thickens (about 10 minutes). Then, strain the mixture into a bowl and then set aside.

Using a mixer on medium speed, whisk the rest of the cream for about six minutes, until stiff peaks form. (you should be able to turn the bowl upside down and have nothing fall out).

Next, adding about 1/4 of the limoncello mixture at a time fold it into the cream. Being gentle so you don’t lose any air that you have whipped in.

Once everything is incorporated, pour into small glasses and place in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours, before serving.

Ingredients for our (cheat) version of homemade limoncello:

• 3 lemons
• 225 ml of Everclear grain alcohol
• 3/4 cup of sugar

Instructions:

Traditionally, limoncello is pretty easy to make BUT you have to have a lot of patience because it requires that the lemon zest steeps with the grain alcohol for anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks! Ain’t nobody got time for that. 

So, we made a cheat version that uses the same ingredients, but is finished and ready to go in about 30 minutes. FYI – the lemon flavor isn’t as potent as limoncello that has steeped properly, but it’s still delicious and will do in a pinch, if you don’t have the time for the

Zest and juice all three lemons into a medium sauce pan and add the grain alcohol, and sugar. Heat on medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Finally reduce the heat to low and allow the mixture to simmer for 15-20 mins.

Recipe by Anissa Saxton
Photography by Amelia Tatnall
Styling by Brittni Mehlhoff

Have you ever had limoncello? Are you a lemon fan? Curious to know!