Gingersnap-Base Lime Mousse Cake

What kind of dessert can I make with limes that's going to be fresh, summery and leave you wanting for some more? That's the question I was facing last weekend after having bought a bag of limes and having no clue what to do with them. I searched the web for some inspiration, found and compiled a few recipes here and there, and finally designed my own recipe: a no-bake, no-egg, fresh and airy lime mousse cake with a gingersnap base :-)

The mousse is easy to prepare with the only technicality being the incorporation of the whipped cream into the fresh cheese mix. There is no baking involved in this recipe, meaning that you can do this without an oven. I advise you to prepare this dessert the night before or in the morning if you serve it in the evening in order to give the cream enough time to settle and stiffen. This recipe is also feasible with other citrus fruits (lemon, orange, grapefruit...) and you can adjust the sugar dose to your taste (i.e. depending on whether you like more or less acidic or sweet).

Try it yourself! When I made it for my friends, we all thought it was fresh and light, and the gingersnap base made for a great taste contrast and complement with the lime mousse. Alternatively, you can also prepare the mousse alone and prepare it in small cups and decorate it with lime zest!

Recipe for the Lime Mousse Cake

150 g gingersnaps (pepparkakor or speculoos)
80 g melted butter
3 limes, zest + juice
400 g fresh white cheese (I suggest 1/2 cream cheese and 1/2 low fat fresh cheese like faisselle)
90 g sugar
3 leaves gelatin
2.5 dl cream
25 g powder sugar

 

Crush the ginger snaps into crumbs, add zest of one lime and the melted butter. Mix into a paste and press it into a spring form. Refrigerate while preparing the mousse.
Drain the fresh white cheese, add the zest of 2 limes and sugar, and beat well. Wet the gelatin leaves in cold water. Gently heat up the lime juice (of 3 limes) and melt the (drained) gelatin in it. Add the lime juice/gelatin to the cheese mix while beating. In another bowl beat up the cream and add powder sugar towards the end to make the beaten cream "tighter". Carefully fold the whipped cream into the cheese mix and then transfer to the spring form on top of the ginger snap layer. Refrigerate overnight or at least 6 hrs. Finally decorate with some lime slices or grated lime.