Pumkin Cheesecake Mousse

If you are looking for a treat this Thanksgiving that satisfies your sweet tooth but doesn’t weigh you down, then look no further than this! Pumpkin cheesecake mousse has all the seasonal flavors of pumpkin cheesecake in a light, lofty and creamy dessert! And because it has no crust, it’s a great choice for those who are gluten-free!

Creamy, spiced pumpkin custard gets folded with lofty meringue and tangy whipped cream cheese. It’s both light and decadent at the same time. This mousse is a fun and delicious new twist on some classic Thanksgiving cornerstones that maintains all of those familiar, cherished flavors!

Here’s what you need:

This recipe is not difficult, but it does have multiple steps, which I know can be intimidating for those who don’t have a lot of experience with cooking or baking. Don’t let that deter you! Read through the process carefully and be patient. And have all of your ingredients measured out before beginning.

There are three steps to this mousse:

1. the pumpkin custard
2. the Italian meringue
3. the whipped cream cheese.

These three elements are going to be made separately, then folded together at the end. Gelatin, which is common in mousse recipes, is not used here. The custard and the cream cheese act as a base to hold the mousse together. Because there is no gelatin, this wouldn’t be a good mousse to use as a filling for a cake, but it’s a perfect creamy dessert to be enjoyed with a spoon!

Start by making the pumpkin custard.

Whisk together the pumpkin, egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the sugar, pumpkin spice, salt, vanilla and cornstarch until very smooth. In medium saucepan, heat the milk until it is hot but not scalding.

Temper the egg yolks with the hot milk.

Drizzle the milk, a little at a time, into the pumpkin mixture while whisking. Do this until about 2/3 of the milk is in. This process cooks the yolks without scrambling them.

Pour the entire, tempered pumpkin custard back into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Continue to cook while whisking until the custard reaches 165 degrees and is thick.

Immediately pour the custard into a large bowl and cover directly with plastic. Place the bowl in the fridge for about 30 minutes. It needs to cool to room temperature so it doesn’t melt the rest of the elements of the mousse when it is folded. However, don’t let it get completely cold either! If it is very cold it will cause the softened cream cheese to firm and clump up.

While the custard is chilling, make the meringue and the whipped cream cheese.

Make an Italian meringue.

You don’t typically see an Italian meringue in mousse recipes. I prefer to use it for 2 reasons.

1. It’s the most stable meringue, which means I can make it a day ahead and not have to worry about it collapsing.
2. The egg whites in an Italian meringue are cooked. And because I am serving this at Thanksgiving, I know there are those who are not comfortable eating anything that isn’t fully cooked.

You can certainly make an Italian meringue with a hand mixer, but you will need a second pair of hands to help pour in the hot syrup as you whip the whites. I prefer using my Kitchenaid stand mixer for this because it does all of the hard work!

Whip the egg whites with a whisk attachment until they are foamy, like in the picture below, then add the cream of tartar. Continue to whip for 4 to 5 minutes until they reach soft peaks. While they are whipping, make the hot sugar syrup.

Heat the remaining sugar with 1/4 cup of water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then leave it alone. Insert a candy thermometer and heat the syrup until it reaches 240 degrees. The goal here is to have the syrup reach temp at the same time the whites reach soft peaks. That doesn’t always happen. If the egg whites reach soft peaks first, just turn off the mixer and restart it when adding the syrup.

Add the syrup to the whites.

When the syrup reaches 240 degrees, slowly drizzle it into the egg whites with the mixer running on medium speed until all the syrup is in. Then, turn the speed to high and continue to whisk to stiff peaks, which will take 7 to 8 minutes. The bowl of the mixer should be cool to the touch when they are ready.

The Italian meringue should be glossy and stiff.

Gently fold the meringue into the custard.

Use a rubber spatula to fold, but not whip the meringue into the cooled pumpkin custard. Cut the spatula through the custard and fold up from the bottom, turning the bowl continuously. Set the mousse to the side while you make the whipped cream cheese.

Make whipped cream cheese.

Use a paddle attachment to beat the cream cheese until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. At this point you may need to stop and use a rubber spatula to scrape down cream cheese that has climbed up the sides of the bowl. Switch to the whisk attachment. With the mixer running on medium speed, drizzle in the heavy cream.

Normally, when making whipped cream, you would use very cold cream. However, what you definitely don’t want is your smooth cream cheese to firm up by being incorporated into cold cream. Doing so would cause little clumps of cream cheese to form all throughout the mousse, which is not what we are going for here. So for this recipe, use room temperature cream.

Once all the cream is in, continue to whip on medium-high for 4 minutes.

Gently fold the whipped cream cheese into the mousse.

Be careful not to knock out any of the air from the meringue or cream cheese. Fold until it is all incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic and place it in the fridge for 2 hours to set.

Serve the pumpkin cheesecake mousse directly from the bowl or spoon it into little cups. This mousse is delicious on its own or dressed up! I love to balance out the creaminess with lots of crunchy toppings like crushed pretzels or chopped nuts! Drizzle over some Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce, or for a kick, sprinkle over a handful of chopped Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seed Brittle!

Other recipes to try:

• Pumpkin and Chocolate Marble Cake
• Strawberry Cheesecake Mousse