Pumpkin Mousse is such a pleasant surprise around the holidays. It is full of spices and creaminess but served chilled; it becomes light and refreshing. After a big Thanksgiving dinner and after a piece of pie or cake, this decadent dessert can easily cap off the evening. The mousse is already portioned into glass jars, making serving super easy, simply arrange them on a platter and let guests help themselves. If you have other desserts, a shot glass is a perfect size; however, if the pumpkin mousse is the main attraction, a larger ounce jar seems to be just enough to satisfy.
Helpful Tools For The Pumpkin Mousse
- Mesh sieve– I use mesh sieves all the time in my kitchen, wether it is removing lumps from gravey, straining lemonade or allowing liquid to drain from riccota cheese or pumpkin puree. These will become a staple for all your cooking and baking needs.
- Glass nesting bowls– Measure and organize all you ingredients to make baking and cooking easier.
- Piping bag– Great for applying icing to cakes and cupcakes and icing to sugar cookies.
- Star tip– the Ateco #826 is a great basic piping tip to have in your collection.
- Pumpkin pie spice– Needed to capture the taste of Fall.
The mousse base is a creamy and spicy pudding, so no cooking is required, which is then aerated with whipped cream to give a lovely texture. Reserve some whipped cream for a little dollop on top and sprinkle with gingersnaps right before serving. I love the look of the mousse pipped in the glasses. It keeps everything clean and the prep time fast.
No-Cook Thick And Creamy Pumpkin Mousse
You need to remove some of the moisture from the pumpkin puree. Put your pumpkin puree in a fine-mesh sieve over a medium-sized mixing bowl. Place a smaller bowl with the bottom covered with plastic wrap on the pumpkin to press out the water gently. Let that do its thing while you work on the rest.
In a large mixing bowl, combine two packages of French vanilla pudding mix with two cups of milk. Do not follow box instructions; that will change the consistency of the mousse. Beat with a hand mixer for about 3-4 minutes until the pudding starts to thicken.
Mix in a ¼ cup of confectionary sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Add in the salt, pumpkin spice seasoning, and cinnamon. Set this aside to let the flavors marry and the pudding thicken further.
Give the beaters a quick rinse and run under cold water to chill them. In a separate bowl, add heavy whipping cream and six tablespoons of confectionary sugar. Whip up using the chilled beaters until medium peaks form.
Working with pumpkin spice pudding, mix in the drained pumpkin puree until it’s all combined. Save about a cup of whipped cream for the top of the desserts. Using a rubber spatula, take spoonfuls of the whipped cream and scooping from the bottom, fold the cream towards the center.
This gentle technique will help keep the air bubbles intact, giving that light and airy mousse texture.
Load up a piping bag and snip the tip, so you have about a ¾ of an inch opening. Pipe the pumpkin mousse into the jar, leaving about an inch and a half of room at the top. In a separate piping bag, with a star tip, fill the pastry bag with the remaining whipped cream and pipe a dollop to bring the heavenly dessert to the top of the glass.
Cover each glass with clear plastic wrap and pop into the refrigerator to keep chilled until ready to serve. Right before serving, remove plastic wrap and sprinkle with the crushed ginger snaps. I place about 5-6 ginger snaps in a sandwich bag and crush with a rolling pin. Store them in the bag until you’re ready to sprinkle the top of your pumpkin mousse. This recipe can be made and pipped into the jars, including the whipped cream, several days before you need them.
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