This is it: the entry that almost wasn’t.

After my debacle with the zwieback, I knew I had to pull off a quick miracle to get my entry ready for my premiere Sugar High Friday. So I turned to my bookcase stuffed with cookbooks to come up with a great recipe worth of the dairy theme.

As I flipped through Low-Fat Vegetarian Cooking by Jenny Stacey, a book I’ve had since it was released, I came upon a recipe I’ve gazed at many times and considered making. But honestly, I am not sure I was ever ready to create it before now. The recipe is for Vanilla Mousse, and I had all of the ingredients save one – so I think it was fated.

Of course, I had to put my own spin on the creation. My version technically isn’t vegetarian because I was unable to locate vegetarian gelatin in time. Also, I had to substitute regular granulated sugar for vanilla sugar. And finally, the recipe calls for a raspberry sauce that looks and sounds delicious, but I wanted to do something all my own so I created a fantastic blueberry strawberry sauce.

So, here it goes.

Vanilla Mousse
serves 4-6
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt (the book calls for low-fat, I used non-fat)
2/3 cup cream cheese (the book calls for low-fat again, but I used regular)
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp granulated sugar (the book calls for vanilla sugar)
1 tbsp sherry (the recipe says you can use brandy, if you prefer)
4 tbsp cold water
2 tsp gelatin (the recipe calls for the vegetarian variety, but I could only find Knox)
2 large egg whites
  • Combine yogurt, cream cheese, vanilla extract, sugar and sherry in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth (about 30 seconds). Pour mixture into a mixing bowl and let sit.
  • In a small saucepan, place cold water and stir in gelatin until dissolved. Heat on medium to boiling and let mixture boil two minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 1-2 minutes. Be sure not to let it sit too long though, as it will solidify upon standing and you don’t want that. Trust me.
  • Stir gelatin mixture into the yogurt mixture.
  • In a small mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with a wire whisk until soft peaks form.
  • Stir egg whites into yogurt mixture.
  • Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap and pour the mixture into the pan. Chill for at least two hours, or until set. Remove plastic wrap and place on a plate.
Blueberry-Strawberry Sauce
1/2 cup blueberries
water
8 strawberries
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tbsp lime juice
  • Steam blueberries over water for 5 minutes. Place into blender (with 1/4 cup water) and blend until smooth. Set aside and let cool.
  • Hull the strawberries. Add to the blender with cooled blueberry mixture. Sift in powdered sugar and add lime juice.
  • Blend on medium until smooth.
To Serve: Place a slice of mousse on a plate and spoon sauce around. Garnish with strawberries, blueberries or mint leaves.
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