Pumpkin Pie without the Crust Recipe (Gluten-Free)

If you love pumpkin pie but hate baking or if pie crusts give you the heebie-jeebies, this dessert will be your salvation during the hectic holiday season! 

This is such an easy dessert to make, it would the perfect recipe to have your kids or grandkids help you make. They will be proud of their accomplishments and you can lavish praise on them – that’s what got me interested in cooking and baking, I loved the attention I got! 🙂

We are picking up the pace for the hectic holiday season right around the corner. Halloween is next week, Thanksgiving less than a month later, and Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanza right after that. Are you ready?

Each year just before the major baking that always happens around the holidays, I take stock of my seasonings and leaveners. I replace the primary ones that I use (cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, baking soda/powder, yeast, etc.) because they lose potency as they sit in the cupboard. Unless you are using them all year long and going through them fairly quickly, you probably want to replace them. You don’t want to be in the middle of baking pies or bread for Thanksgiving and discover you’re out of one or your rolls aren’t rising!

While I love baking pies, they are a real challenge to transport the to holiday dinners. And now that I am gluten-free, they are kind of a bear to make. This wonderfully light and airy pumpkin mousse can be whipped up in less than an hour and will hold in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. If you don’t have far to travel or can pack it in an ice chest, it is a simple, delicious option for dessert.

Canned pumpkin makes this a snap to put together. A lot of people swear by roasting their own pumpkins and pureeing the meat, but honestly that is one thing that I would rather buy already made. Libby’s Pure Pumpkin Puree is gluten-free! If you love to make your own, go right ahead. Just make sure it is the same density as canned with the same moisture content.

Unlike a lot of recipes out there, this one does not contain any eggs. It is just pumpkin and cream with some sweetening and spices. What makes it heavenly is that you heat the pumpkin with part of the cream and whip the rest then fold it in. This lightens the mousse, making it almost disappear in your mouth. There is nothing better after a heavy holiday meal.

If you are dairy-intolerant, this is easy to convert to dairy-free. You can substitute coconut cream for the 1-cup cream blended in with the pumpkin in the second paragraph of the recipe. You can make dairy-free whipped “cream” with the solidified cream on the top of cans of coconut milk. Follow the directions Here. (http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-whipped-cream-from-152490) If you are hosting anyone who cannot eat dairy, they will be thrilled that there is a dessert safe for them to enjoy along with everyone else!

Light, creamy and downright addicting, this dessert will be perfect for our Halloween and Thanksgiving dinners and who knows, maybe it will make an appearance at Christmas too!

Gluten-Free Tips:

If you use Libby’s canned pumpkin puree (NOT Pie Filling!), it is naturally gluten-free.

Kitchen Skill: How to Fold in Ingredients

This is often called for when you are combining one mixture with another that has been whipped, such as egg whites or whipped cream being mixed into cake batters. You spent a lot of time beating air into the mixture, and folding lets you retain as much of the volume as possible. Using a large, wide bowl and big rubber spatula will help make this easier.

Add some of the whipped cream or egg whites to the bowl with your batter. Starting in the center of the bowl, cut straight down to the bottom and pull the batter from the bottom of the bowl up and over the whipped mixture on the top. Turn the bowl slightly and repeat. This action brings the heavier ingredients from the bottom of the bowl to the top, blending the two mixtures gently. Keep working your way around the bowl, folding the mixture onto itself until there are no streaks left.

Ginger Pumpkin Mousse with Whipped Ginger Cream (GF)

2015-06-19 11:05:31

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Ingredients

1. Mousse
2. 1 cup granulated sugar
3. 1 tbsp crystallized ginger pieces, chopped
4. 1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin puree (NOT pie filling)
5. 3 cups heavy cream, divided (for dairy-free, see note above)
6. 1/2 tsp ground ginger
7. 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
8. Pinch ground cloves
9. Pinch ground allspice
10. 1 tbsp vanilla extract
11. 2 tsp powdered sugar
12. Ginger Whipped Cream and Garnish
13. 1 cup heavy cream
14. 1 to 2 tsp ginger syrup
15. 2 tbsp powdered sugar, optional
16. Finely chopped crystallized ginger
17. Crumbled gingersnaps (gluten-free if needed)

Instructions

1. Prepare the Mousse: In a food processor, combine the granulated sugar and crystallized ginger. Process until the ginger is fully incorporated into the sugar and only a few larger pieces remain. Depending on the strength of your food processor and the hardness of your ginger this can take 3 to 5 minutes. Any remaining pieces of ginger will be little surprising nuggets of flavor in the mousse.
2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the pumpkin, 1 cup of the heavy cream, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. As soon as you see bubbles starting to form, reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature. (If you need to speed this up, place the bowl in the refrigerator and stir occasionally.)
3. In your stand mixer, whip the remaining 2 cups heavy cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar to firm peaks (peaks will stand straight up when whisk attachment is lifted from the cream and turned upright).
4. Stir half of the whipped cream into the cooled pumpkin. Fold in the remaining whipped cream until no streaks remain. Pour into a serving dish or individual individual serving pieces. I like to use clear glass so the beautiful color shows through. (Use a single bowl if you are transporting this dessert.)
5. Make Ahead: Can be made up to several hours ahead to this point. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down onto the surface to keep a skin from forming, and refrigerate.
6. Make the Ginger Whipped Cream: Whip the heavy cream with the ginger syrup to soft peaks form. Taste and add 2 tbsp powdered sugar if you like your whipped cream sweeter.
7. To Serve: Top each serving with a dollop of the Ginger Whipped Cream and sprinkle the top with the minced candied ginger or cookie crumbs. Serve immediately.

Notes

1. Yield: 4 to 6 servings

By © 2014 Jane Bonacci, The Heritage Cook. All rights reserved

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