thanksgiving dessert

As promised, here is the pumpkin mousse trifle that I made for Thanksgiving dinner. I was inspired by the wonderful way layered desserts look in a clear glass cup. The layers included vanilla sponge cake, pumpkin mousse, and crushed pralines. This was mine spin on a trifle for Thanksgiving. I kept the flavor profile simple, letting the three main components speak for themselves. Last year, I made Williams Sonoma's pumpkin mousse cake, which is quite similar, and where I drew the pumpkin mousse from.

I wanted a crunchier dimension to the cake, so decided to add crushed pralines, which worked well since pecans and pumpkin complement each other so well. It also gave me an excuse to finally use the Silpat that A. got me years ago. After the pralines cooled, I crushed in my food processor. I experimented a handful of times for the sponge cake, trying to achieve a light airy texture without the sticky top crust. I adjusted temperature, sugar, fat, and time, but still couldn't quite eliminate the problem of a sticky top crust after being completely cooled after baking. My final advice? Place a piece of parchment paper on the top after cooling and once ready to use, peel it off to remove the sticky crust.

I'll continually work on the sponge cake until I reach a perfect product, but until then, this recipe offers every quality a sponge cake should have, albeit with an added nuisance of a crust. My family loved this, and most surprisingly loved the praline, which I would have thought to be too sweet for their tastes. They actually sprinkled more on top as they devoured the cups. I served them with a hot cup of coffee and frothed milk, which was just a perfect way to end a holiday dinner.

Pumpkin Mousse Trifle
makes about 6 14-oz glasses (depends on the size of your glasses)

Praline - I used the praline recipe from Epicurious, and halved the recipe

Pumpkin Mousse - I used the whole recipe from this wonderful Williams Sonoma recipe

Sponge Cake
makes 1 half sheet

6 eggs, separated
2/3 cup baking sugar
1 cup cake flour, sifted
4 tbsp butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400. Line sheet pan with parchment paper.

Beat eggs yolks with sugar (but reserve 2 tbsp of sugar) until you reach the ribbon stage. Add vanilla.

Whisk egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar and salt. Continue whisking and once the whites start to thicken, sprinkle in reserved sugar and continue to whisk until you have stiff peaks. Fold a dollop into the egg yolk mixture to loosen it. Fold in remaining whites gently and fold in sifted flour. Lastly, fold in melted butter.

Be sure not to over mix and deflate the batter, since there are no leavening agents.

Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 9 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Assemble

Use the cup as a guide and cut out 12 circles of sponge cake.

Pipe a thin layer of mousse at the bottom of the cup. Place one circle of cake and gently press down to remove gaps of air. Pipe a layer of mousse on top, matching the thickness of the cake. Sprinkle with crushed pralines. Repeat starting with cake. Finish with a final layer of piped mousse, pipe extra to crown the cup just a bit. Use a knife or spatula to cut off extra mousse, leaving the mousse clean and flushed with the edge of the glass.

Refrigerate until set and up to overnight. Take out of refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving to bring it back to cool room temperature.