Dairy-Free Lemon Mousse with Pomegranate Flair

I’m not one of those people who gives up desserts as a New Year’s resolution. I actually don’t make resolutions at all. But, I’m always so done with cookies, pie, and heavy sweets once January 1st rolls around.

The sweets I crave are on the lighter side (at least for the next month or so), and for whatever reason I was really set on the idea of a lemon dessert this week.

It’s just such an easygoing, refreshing flavor, and extra delicious when it’s in creamy, velvety form. I topped this lemon mousse with pomegranate arils for a little soft burst of berry-like sparkle in each bite.

Plus. The colors! I’m obsessed with the red-pink jewel tone of the pomegranate paired with the soft yellow of the mousse, which—now, excuse me while I travel back to 90s SNL to do my best Linda Richmond impression—is like buttah. All in all, a delightful treat for the eyes as well as the tastebuds. 🙂

Hope you love it!
M

P.S. If you fancy this color combo as much as I do, feast your eyes on these marshmallows.

Dairy-Free Lemon Mousse with Pomegranate Flair
Prep time: 20 min | Ready in: 2 hours 20 min
Yields: about 6, 4-ounce servings

Ingredients:
1 cup cashews
1/2 cup + 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Zest from one lemon
1 14-ounce package extra-firm tofu
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 pomegranate

Directions:

1. Soak cashews in 1/2 cup lemon juice for 1 to 2 hours.
2. Remove arils from pomegranate. Here’s a video showing how Martha Stewart does it.
3. Use a zester to get all that yellow-y flavor off the lemon. If you don’t have a zester, you can use a potato peeler, but you’ll also want to dice it up.
4. In a blender, process soaked cashews with the lemon juice, zest (save a little bit if you’d like to use some for garnishing), tofu, brown sugar, and honey. Add extra lemon juice or non-dairy milk a little at a time if needed to get the ingredients moving around. Use as little liquid as possible, though.
5. Spoon into serving dishes, top with pomegranate arils, and refrigerate for two hours until set and chilled. NOTE: If your serving dishes have small openings, spoon the mousse into a large Ziploc, snip 1/4 inch off one corner, and pipe into the dishes.