Pumpkin Mousse with Cream and Dark Chocolate

Ingredients:

1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup plus 2 TB pumpkin
2/3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (use a fresh nutmeg nut)
1/8 teaspoon salt

Step 1:

To get the 1/2 cup plus 2 TB pumpkin you will first need to roast the pumpkin.

Get 1 small sugar pumpkin of about 10” in diameter (I made extra in the picture), very carefully slice in half with a heavy knife and scoop out the seeds. YLightly oil the cut edges of the squash, and place cut side down on a baking sheet into a 350 degree oven, and roast until tender and you can poke through the skin easily with a fork, about 40 minutes.

Step 2:

Remove from oven, let cool, and scoop out flesh. Process in a food processor until no more lumps remain (check for large lumps with a spoon). It will look like this only you will have less:

Step 3:

Whisk 3/8 cup of cream, sugar and egg yolks in a medium saucepan until blended.

Step 4:

Continue stirring over medium low heat until very thick, taking caution not to boil, about 10 minutes.

Step 5:

Pour into a large bowl, and add pumpkin, vanilla and spices. Refrigerate until cold, about 30-40 minutes.

Step 6:

After that’s chilled, beat the rest of your whipping cream until peaks form. Be careful not to over beat, or you’ll make butter. Almost there:

Set aside a 1/4 cup of the cream for garnish.

Step 7:

Fold the rest of the whipped cream gently into the pumpkin mousse.

Darn, my whipped cream deflated a bit. That’s ok. Let’s re-whip it and see if we can save it.

Step 8:

Hooray, the mousse is saved. Now you can refrigerate it for several hours or up to a day before serving. Serve in small glass footed bowls, champagne flutes, or whatever you find looks pretty.

Step 9:

Garnish with dark chocolate curls. To do this: get some good quality dark chocolate (I used Valrhona 71%). Hold the bar in your hands for a minute to gently warm up. Then, using a vegetable peeler, pull along the smooth side of the bar until you have chocolate curls.

Step 10:

And here is the finished pumpkin mousse with cream and dark chocolate shavings.