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An old-school Danish dessert
Now if you’re on the hunt for classic Danish dessert, like the type that your grandparents definitely ate, this is one of those desserts. It isn’t fancy, but it’s super delicious. And it’s great to serve at the end of a dinner party as a bit of a light and fresh dessert. It came about in the 19th century and has been enjoyed ever since! We actually had this the last time we were in Denmark at our friends’ house, and it made us want to develop our own recipe. Although, I think it’s fair to say that there are only so many ways you can make citronfromage, so all the recipes out there are very similar. If you’re on the hunt for a citronfromage that is just about set, very light and fluffy, with plenty of lemon flavor, then this is the recipe for you!
What does citronfromage mean?
You may be wondering what exactly citronfromage means in Danish, as it doesn’t look very Danish. Short answer – it’s not! Citron means lemon in Danish, and “fromage” comes from the French word for cheese. There isn’t any cheese in this recipe, though, so not entirely clear why it’s called that. Regardless, a fromage in Danish is commonly one of these mousse-like desserts, and you can enjoy them made with different fruits. The reason that it’s “old-fashioned”, or that many of our grandparents and great-grandparents will be familiar with it, is apparently because lemons were harder to get during/after World War II. This meant that it was a very unique dessert reserved for special and festive occasions!
A smooth and fluffy, tangy mousse
The texture of our citronfromage can best be described as very light. It’s a fluffy and aerated mousse, and while there’s gelatin in it, it’s only just set enough to hold its shape. So do not fear the gelatin! The mousse is so light because the whipped cream and whipped egg whites get folded in, which gives it such a lovely texture. The final mousse is then topped with whipped cream to add some extra richness and a slightly different texture. Overall, just such a beautifully bright dessert with a texture that melts in your mouth.
Ingredients you’ll need for citronfromage
The ingredients are actually very simple for this recipe: granulated sugar, eggs, powdered gelatin, water, heavy cream, lemon juice, and lemon zest. However – very importantly – this recipe does not involve cooking the eggs. If you are unable to eat raw eggs for any reason, for example you are immunocompromised or pregnant, make sure to buy commercially pasteurized eggs. We like to pasteurize our own eggs using a sous vide method. We’ll explain in more detail in the next section. However, please note that this is not as precise as when eggs are commercially pasteurized. So if you are in any doubt or uneasy about consuming raw eggs, do not do so.
If you are using pasteurized eggs, you’ll also need a little bit of cream of tartar to help them whip up. Otherwise, they might not whip up properly. Additionally, we use powdered gelatin in this recipe, but you can use sheet gelatin if you have it instead. Make sure to follow the instructions on whatever gelatin you use to ensure you are combining the ingredients properly.
Here’s how you can pasteurize your own eggs
Using the sous vide method, pasteurizing eggs actually isn’t too difficult. The sous vide machine has an immersion circulator that keeps water at the same temperature. First, make sure the eggs have no cracks in them before you add them to the water. Set the temperature at 57 C or about 135 F. We then leave the eggs in there for 2 hours, just to be safe. This is slightly longer than some guides recommend, so you can decide for yourself what you prefer. You should read this guide from Serious Eats to learn more about pasteurizing eggs at home. It’s helpful and very informative!
How to make citronfromage (lemon mousse)
So, now that you’ve either pasteurized your eggs or decided that raw eggs are fine with you (the latter usually being our choice haha), it’s now time to make the citronfromage! Start by zesting and juicing the lemons. Then, whip up the egg whites in a bowl until they reach soft peaks. Remember to add cream of tartar if they’re pasteurized. This could take up to 10 minutes, so in the meantime, prep the rest of the ingredients.
Bloom the gelatin in boiling water, then add lemon juice and zest to it. Beat the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy, then stream in the lemon gelatin mixture. Fold in the egg whites once they’re whipped up, and then whip up the cream. Fold in the whipped cream as the final step. If anything looks lumpy, give it a quick mix with a whisk. Pour into a large serving dish or small individual dishes. Let it set in the fridge for at least 6-8 hours. Decorate with extra whipped cream, and enjoy!
Citronfromage (Danish Lemon Mousse)
An incredibly light and fluffy mousse with a tangy kick from the lemon – a Danish classic!
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs; whites and yolks separated (use pasteurized whole eggs if you prefer)
- ¾ tsp cream of tartar (necessary if using pasteurized eggs; otherwise optional)
- 1½ tbsp powdered gelatin (if using sheet gelatin, this is around 6 sheets)
- 90 ml boiling water (for blooming gelatin)
- 150 grams granulated sugar
- 180 ml lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 350 ml heavy whipping cream (for the mousse)
- 120 ml heavy whipping cream (for decorating)
Instructions
- If you would like to pasteurize your own eggs for this recipe: preheat a sous vide water bath to 135F (57C). Lower in the three eggs for the recipe directly into the water, PLUS an extra one or two incase of issues with separating them. Leave in the water bath for at least two hours, then remove and let cool down and place in fridge until ready to use. Just make sure to keep these eggs separate from the raw ones so you know which ones are pasteurized!
- To start making the mousse: separate your egg whites and yolks into separate bowls. Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl. Please note that separating egg whites and yolks from pasteurized eggs can be quite difficult, so proceed with caution and crack just one egg at a time into a bowl so you don't get any broken yolks into the egg white.
- If using pasteurized eggs, add ¾ tsp cream of tartar to the egg whites.
- Using a whisk attachment on the stand mixer or a handheld mixer, whisk together the eggs until you have reached soft peaks and they are white and fluffy. This could take up to 10 minutes or so, so now is a good time to prep the other ingredients in the recipe (zesting lemons, squeezing out lemon juice).
- Transfer the egg whites to another bowl to mix later; using the bowl of the stand mixer or the bowl that you whisked the egg whites in, add the egg yolks and 150g of sugar.
- Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until light in color, around 3-4 minutes.
- Bloom gelatin in a bowl by adding 1½ tbsp of powdered gelatin to 90ml of boiling water; stir very well for a few minutes to make sure it is completely dissolved and there are no lumps of gelatin.
- If you haven't prepped the lemon juice already, zest the lemons so you have about 1 tbsp of lemon zest, and juice the lemons so you have 180ml of lemon juice.
- Add the dissolved gelatin to the lemon juice and lemon zest, and stir well.
- Stream the gelatin/lemon mixture into the stand mixer bowl with the egg yolks and sugar. Whisk together until incorporated.
- Transfer the egg yolk/lemon mixture to the same bowl as the egg whites, and just let it sit without touching it while you whip up your whipped cream.
- In the same bowl of the stand mixer, whip up 350ml of whipped cream until soft peaks.
- Gently fold together the egg white and egg yolk mixture, trying not to deflate the egg whites too much.
- Add in the whipped cream and start gently folding it together again; this could take a few minutes to get it mostly incorporated. If you're seeing small lumps, you can whisk it just a few times to break those up.
- Now you can either keep it in the bowl you have it in or transfer to a different serving container for setting in the fridge. If you'd like to make individual mousses, you can transfer to smaller containers. It will likely fill 8-10 individual containers depending on their size.
- Set in the fridge for around 6 hours; less may also be okay, as long as you can tell that it is set and not soupy.
- Whip up another 120ml of whipped cream for decorating the top – we like to pipe it on using a star tip nozzle. You can add additional lemon zest, or candied lemon peel, or candied lemon slices to the top for more decoration. Enjoy and keep any leftovers in the fridge!
