Fruit Mousse Recipe
This is a bit of a bother to make, but your rewards will be great in fruit mousse heaven.
2-3 ripe 1-pound mangoes
3 ounces (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
2 cups whipping cream
Peel the mangoes and scoop the flesh away from the seeds. You want about 20 ounces of fruit. Purée the flesh and the sugar in a food processor until smooth. Add the lemon juice and strain the mixture through a sieve.
Pour about a third of the purée into a small saucepan, warm it gently, then add the gelatin, stirring it until it dissolves. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and add the rest of the purée. Allow it to cool, stirring it from time to time. When the purée is close to room temperature, whip the cream to soft peaks.
Immerse the bowl of purée in an ice bath. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula until you notice the mousse beginning to thicken. When that happens, remove the bowl from the bath and whip the cream the rest of the way to stiff peaks. Whip in the mango purée, then immediately pour the purée in the appropriate mold.
This mousse can be made with any number of fruits, though you might have to adjust the sugar a bit according to the fruit and your taste. Follow the same procedure with 20 ounces (2 1/2 cups) of puréed and sieved raspberries, strawberries, cantaloupe, bananas or blackberries. It also works with poached peaches, apricots, pineapples, kiwis, apples or pears, though you’ll probably need to add a little color to these, since poached fruit bavarians can look a little dull.
Hey Joe, for those of us lucky to live near ethnic markets of some kind or another, and who thus have access to frozen mango puree, is there any reason we shouldn’t use it — assuming we don’t add sugar again if it’s already been sweetened? Or is there something so sublime about the actual mango that makes it worth the extra effort?
There’s a lot of really good mango puree out there, pre-frozen. Whole Foodal carries it I know. I’d lean toward fresh, ripe mango if you can find it, since it usually has better flavor and almost always has better color. Something about freezing seems to give mango a pale yellow, rather than a rich orange, color. But decide for yourself. If you can’t find fresh mangoes that look great and smell great, frozen is a perfectly good alternative.
And related: I rely on canned mango pulp, also found at the local ethnic markets. It comes in two varieties, and I’ve wondered what the difference is–I’ve never done a head-to-head taste test but haven’t noticed any marked difference other than a small price differential. So, what’s the difference between Kesar and Alphonso mango pulp, canned varieties?
Oh, the canned stuff is a lovely rich orange color.
Nancy, you’ve got me on that one. But maybe there’s a reader out there who knows. Anyone?
Two varieties of the same fruit. Like the slimmer, very shaped yellow ones you see in Thailand and the more bulky, more orange/red ones you find on the caribbean islands. But there are many more varieties of mango out there – from small to big, from pale to dark red.
Kesar and Alphonso are two different varieties of mango, grown primarily in India. In general, both are very pulpy, sweet and intensely tasty. However Alphonso is considered to be the king of mangoes in India. When you are considering canned puree, really it makes very little of a difference as to which one you pick, but if you are buying fresh, I’d choose Alphonso (even though, I swear, you can’t go wrong with either) 🙂
Hope that helps
Thanks, Alina!
– Joe
Actually they have different tastes. Though I’ve never tasted a Kesar mango, Alphonsos have a particular taste, and they tend to have smooth and only slightly stringy flesh. Different varieties are greener/tarter/stringier/smoother etc. One that grows in north India tastes very sharp, like sap or green raw vegetables, and never gets yellow on the outside. My favourite is one the grows in the Deccan plateau of India, called Banganpalli. Alas, they don’t export it (well alas for you guys heh). All we export are Alphonsos.
Hi Joe, recently noticed this post when I was searching mousse recipes. I use Philippine brand mango puree sold in a box or in 1L plastic bottles in Asian groceries (they’re everywhere in Chi-town). They can be used for your mango mousse without having to sweeten it or just simply add water for a refreshing mango juice. And it tastes as good as fresh ripe mangoes that the Philippines are known for!
Sounds good to me!
Having loved Holland America’s mango mousse, I just made your recipe with a couple of fresh mangos, and I think it’s going to be about the same. When do you put in the lemon juice? I didn’t notice it for a while, then put it in while the puree was in the ice bath. I’m thinking about making “napoleons,” with your mousse layered with homemade lime pizzelle and garnished with chopped mango and powdered sugar.
Oops! Thanks K! Problem fixed. But wow, does that ever sound like a delicious idea! Please send me a photo!
– Joe
I just tried this mousse tonight for the first time and I fell in love with it. I used frozen strawberries and a 1/3 cup sugar and it worked perfectly! I plan on using this as a filling for a angel food cake roulade! That is….if my family and I manage to stop eating it all! 🙂
Fruit mousses kinda just blow your mind, don’t they? They’re easy and thy make you feel like a true professional. Well done, Liz, and thanks for the note!
– Joe
Hi joe!
found your site while researching fruit mousse recipes, of course, will fresh bluberries work also,it wasn’t mentioned.
thanks , Jim
Hi Jim!
Blueberries would be rather tough with this, I’d think, since they have so much liquid in them. The mousse will probably end up runny. But I haven’t tried it. If you do, please write back with a full report!
– Joe
I m ur fan i want some mousse cake recipe for making in hotel i m a pestry sheff please give me a some unique recipes
Thanks you, Avi! I am very pleased to meet you!
– Joe
I hav a problem in mud pudding they r a firment in 15degree after 3 days my recipe is 100gm choco paste 100gm cake crust nd a some water wht problem in my recipe nd i want a training from u plese help me
Tell me please, where are you writing from?
– Joe
India maharashtra state pune city
Hello Avi!
I’m trying to find a recipe for mud pudding in English since I still don’t understand what it is. In America it is only crushed cookies and cream. But you describe a sort of bread I think. Can you connect me to a picture perhaps?
– Joe
I will send you a phorograph on your email id please give me your emal id
Send it to joe@joepastry.com.
Mud pudding is a like chocolate mousse it is a mix choco paste water nd a cake crust mix mixing is little thik like liquid nd it is set in small cup 50ml this is not bread
OK, I think I’m starting to understand. You mentioned “ferment”…but you’re talking about “setting” I think. Correct?
– Joe
One suggestion for making the mango pulp. What we usually do is hold the tip with thumb and bottom in rest of the fingers. Then press the pulp to the center from all the sides. This way you loosen up the pulp. In the end, just pop open the tip and squeeze everything out. No worries of injuring yourself 🙂
Difference between the kesar and alphonso is that kesar has more strands and bit thicker skin whereas alphonso has thin skin, beautiful flavour and no strands! The best one can have in a mango.
Vrushali, it’s great to be able to talk to a man who knows!
Thanks very much,
– JOe
A woman 🙂
Thanks! I love your site!
Thanks Vrushali! Please come back soon!
– Joe
Hi Joe, I found your site while researching for a way to duplicate the Cheesecake factory Mango Key lime cheesecake. Since I am a diabetic I try to recreate friendly versions of popular desserts and this mousse recipe will fit the bill perfectly for my needs, albeit using Splenda instead of sugar. I will let you know how it turns out.
Please do, Richard, I regularly get requests for low- or no-sugar recipes.
Cheers,
– Joe
Hi Joe I am just learning to make everyone in my life amazing cakes for their birthdays at my age4? I have gotten an affinity for baking. My next birthday i coming up in a few day and I love this recipe but it looks like it will be too small for my party size. I have a 12×17 inch jelly roll pan and I have an 11 circumference bowl. This looks about the right size for my party. I have learned that sometimes if I double a recipe sometimes it does not work as well. I was thinking about just doing this recipe twice, just to be sure I don’t ruin it because it looks so amazing and my birthday guest will not be expecting it. Any suggestions? Or should I just make it twice like I thought? I love this site I came upon it looking for a great dessert, I have a feeling this recipe will not disappoint.
Hello Liz!
I’m sorry for the delay, I have been on vacation. You may have made this already, but just in case you haven’t, I definitely suggest two batches for something like this. Let me know how it goes!
– Joe
Hi Joe!
Thanks for posting! I was wondering how many servings this recipe makes. Hope to hear from you soon 🙂
Hi Anita!
I made a recipe of this for a bombe filling…it served about sixteen people as I recall…fairly thin slices, but it was a rich dessert.
– Joe