I’ve made a lot of desserts and drinks with pumpkin in the past. It’s a very versatile ingredient. Recently, I added pumpkin mousse to the list of pumpkin dishes I’ve tried, and I have to say, it came out wonderfully. It’s denser than your typically mousse due to the thickness of pumpkin purée.
Compared to a pumpkin pie, the mousse is more subtly flavored, but still captures the essence of this quintessential Thanksgiving ingredient. Individually served in small cups or more generously in a parfait cup, pumpkin mousse would make an elegant addition to any Thanksgiving dinner table.
1. Info for Pumpkin Mousse Recipe
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 8
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Pumpkin Mousse Recipe
- 8 ounces canned pumpkin purée
- 1-¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon, + extra for dusting
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 ounces vanilla chips (white chocolate)
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon butter pecan extract (see tips)
- 1 cup heavy cream, cold
- ½ cup butter pecan whipped cream, for garnish
- 8 halves of candied pecans, see tips
3. Directions:
- In a saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of sugar without any water over high heat. It’s important to watch the sugar carefully; as soon as the edges of the pan start caramelizing, immediately add the pumpkin purée. Gently jiggle the saucepan in circles for about 3-4 minutes. The pumpkin mixture should be thick. Turn off the heat. Add 2 tablespoons of butter, salt, 3/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon extract and allspice. Allow to cool completely.
- Place a pot filled with hot water (at a gentle simmer), topped with a piece of cloth so the bowl does not move and place a stainless-steel bowl filled with the vanilla chips on top. Make sure the bowl circumference is larger than the pot, so there isn’t any splatter of water in the vanilla chips. Slowly melt, stirring frequently. Turn off the heat and add the remaining butter. Stir well. Set aside.
- Whip the heavy cream (at low speed) for 2-3 minutes until creamy and smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Increase to maximum speed and keep beating for another 2-3 minutes, until it forms soft peaks. Do not over-beat or the texture will become grainy. Set aside.
- In a stainless-steel mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with the remaining granulated sugar until they have thick texture. Place in a double boiler (a pot filled with hot water, covered with a piece of cloth) and place the bowl filled with whisked eggs on top). Whisk the eggs at full speed using an electrical mixer, for about 3-4 minutes. Check the temperature of the eggs; they should feel warm to the touch. Remove from the double boiler, add the butter pecan extract and continue whisking at full speed for about 5 minutes.
- Add the pumpkin mixture to the egg mixture. Stir well. Pour 1/3 of the whipped cream into the pumpkin-egg mixture; gently stir to soften the batter. Pour in the rest of the whipped cream, using a wooden spoon, gently fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin to get an airy batter.
- Place the filling in a piping bag. Pipe or spoon the filling into dessert cups. Level the filling with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and place the cups in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours, preferably overnight.
- When you’re ready to serve, pipe little mounds of butter pecan-whipped cream on top and decorate with a candied pecan. Dust with ground cinnamon, using a fine-mesh strainer.
- Enjoy with a pumpkin spice latte.
- Bon appétit!
