Vanilla and Lemon Curd Jelly Dessert served with an Orange Sorbet.

A light vanilla mousse, layered with a tangy lemon curd jelly and garnished with slices of, Zespri SunGold, kiwi and a passion fruit syrup. With an orange sorbet accompaniment, it makes for a beautiful and refreshing summer dessert.
Lets not ignore the shortbread base recipe. It’s a, melt in the mouth, buttery sensation with enough to make extra biscuits – you can’t have enough shortbread…gone already.

Ingredients: (Makes four 9cm x 4cm round desserts or six rectangle 12cm x 4cm x 3cm desserts)

Shortbread: (for base and extra slices as accompaniment)
165g softened unsalted butter.
73g caster sugar.
225g plain flour – sieved.
20g cornflour – sieved.
1 tsp vanilla extract.
Zest of a lemon (optional)
1/4 tsp of salt.
Extra flour for dusting and rolling dough.
Caster sugar to sprinkle on uncooked shortbread.

Lemon Curd Jelly:
135g caster sugar.
2 large eggs
Juice and zest of 4 lemons – approx 130g – 135g.
1/2 tsp of agar agar or setting agent of choice. (equiv’ to 1 leaf of gelatin)
140g unsalted butter – cut in to cubes.

Orange Sorbet: (makes approx 450ml)
300ml fresh orange juice.
Zest of two oranges.
130g sugar.
200ml water.
1g silk gel (optional)
Note: Silk gel stops sorbets from becoming to icy/solid. Also less sugar syrup can be used in your recipes.

Vanilla Mouse:
170ml double cream.
120g cream cheese.
20g caster sugar.
1 tsp vanilla extract.
Juice of 1 lime
1 tabls water.
1/2 tsp of agar agar or setting agent of choice. (equiv’ to 1 leaf of gelatin)

2 egg whites.
40g caster sugar.
Pinch of salt.

Passion Fruit Syrup:
100ml water
2 dessert spoons of sugar.
1 passion fruit.

Garnish:
4-5 Kiwi fruits. Zespri SunGold are so sweet – they are ideal.
3-4 Passion fruits.
Fresh Cherries or summer fruit of your choice.
12 sprigs of fresh mint.

Method/cook:

Shortbread: (oven gas 5 or 190°C / 375°F)
Cream together the softened butter, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and salt.
Combine the sieved flour and cornflour.
Make a dough by adding the flour mix to the creamed butter mix.
Bring all the ingredients together, wrap in cling film, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Once the dough has chilled, roll out on a floured surface to 1cm in thickness.
Using your round or rectangle moulds – the same moulds you will use to set your mousse and curd – cut out your shortbread.
Use up all the shortbread mix by cutting further rectangles or rounds that can be served as a biscuit accompaniment.
Place your shortbread shapes on lined baking sheets, sprinkle with caster sugar, and bake for 10 minutes at gas 5 or 190°C / 375°F – middle shelf.
Tip: After 5 minutes baking, turn your baking trays so that the shortbread at the front go to the back. Bake for the remaining 5 minutes. This gives your shortbread a more even bake.
When your shortbread has cooked, remove from the oven, and immediately, while still hot, re-cut the shortbread with your round or rectangle moulds. I have used both as an example. (See image)


Re-cutting the shortbread is important, as the shortbread expands during baking and you want the biscuit bases to fit inside of the moulds.
Once cooled, store shortbread in an airtight container. Eat the trimmed pieces.

Lemon Curd Jelly:
Except for the butter, place rest of ingredients into a thick bottomed pan and combine, thoroughly, with a hand whisk.
Note: If using leaf gelatin – soak in a dish of water first before adding.
Put the pan over a medium heat and, while stirring, slowly bring the contents to just boiling.
Remove from the heat and stir in the butter.
Sieve the curd and set aside to cool.
Once chilled, store in an airtight container and refrigerate to chill.

Orange Sorbet:
Create syrup by bringing the water and sugar to a boil in a thick bottomed pan.
Once syrup boils add the orange zest and silk gel and simmer for 5 minuets.
Once syrup has simmered leave to cool.
Add the fresh orange juice to the syrup and strain.
Chill the orange and syrup mixture in the refrigerator.
Once chilled, churn in an ice cream maker and store the resulting sorbet in a freezer.
Note: If you don’t have an ice cream maker, place the sorbet mix in a suitable container and pop in the freezer. Stir the sorbet mixture every couple of hours until it creates a soft, but frozen ice.

Passion Fruit Syrup:
Bring the sugar and water to a boil.
Once boiling reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Leave to cool.
Add the seeds and juice from the passion fruit. Chill and set aside.

Vanilla Mouse:
Whip the double cream to soft peaks – set aside.
Mix the cream cheese, vanilla and 20g of caster sugar. set aside.
Place lime juice, water and agar agar in a pan and bring to a simmer. Once simmering take off heat and set aside. Note: If using leaf gelatin – soak in a dish of water first before adding to the warm lime juice.
Whisk egg whites, with a pinch of salt, until stiff peaks form. Then add the 40g of sugar to the stiff egg whites and whisk for 3 minutes.
With a hand whisk, combine the warm agar agar and lime juice to the cream cheese mixture.
Now add the whipped cream to the cream cheese mix and combine with hand whisk.
Now fold in the egg white mix until well combined.

Making the individual desserts:
On a baking sheet, place a shortbread biscuit in the base of your moulds.
Now pipe a layer of vanilla mousse in each mould – a third of the way up. (See image)

Follow the vanilla layer by piping a lemon curd layer.
Now pipe a final vanilla layer, on top of the curd layer, and smooth with a palette knife. (See image)

Chill your individual layered desserts for several hours to set – overnight if you can.

Serving/plating:

Once the desserts have set, carefully run a thin bladed knife around the edge of the moulds. With the mold still in place, slide a palette knife under the whole dessert and transfer to a plate. Carefully remove mould.
Garnish the top of each mouse with passion friut and mint sprigs.
Serve with slices of, Zespri SunGold, kiwi fruit, a scoop of orange sorbet and a drizzle of the passion fruit syrup.
I added a couple of fresh cherries, but any summer fruit will suffice.
Serve with extra shortbread biscuits.

Enjoy.