Two weeks ago we had a cold spell and I was all like, “I’M READY FOR PUMPKIN!” I bought mini pumpkins to decorate my kitchen, I bought some fall-scented candles, and watched pumpkin everything blow up on social media. Fast forward to today and, despite not even having reached October, I’m already over pumpkin.
That being said, I have to do at least one pumpkin recipe every year, so I’m going to do it now and get it over with. This is the last time you’ll hear me talk pumpkin this year ( <— total lie). I’m usually a fan of savory pumpkin recipes more so than sweets, but I just happened to have all the ingredients for this Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse on hand, so that’s what I whipped up today. Zero regrets, guys. ZERO.
Can I Use Store Bought Whipped Cream?
Yes, if you want to take a shortcut, you can use store-bought whipped cream instead of whipping your own. But like, homemade whipped cream is way better. Just sayin’. ;)
How to Serve Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse
This super light and fluffy Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse can be eaten several different ways. You can use it as a dip for graham crackers, apple slices, or cinnamon pita crisps, you can make it into a parfait by layering it in a jar with crushed cinnamon graham crackers, or you can just say, “to hell with it” and serve it with a spoon and a side of Netflix. While the first two options make the prettiest presentation, the last option is probably my favorite.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse
Servings 4 1 cup eachIngredients
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream ($0.84)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract ($0.84)
- 4 Tbs sugar, divided ($0.04)
- 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature ($0.60)
- 1 cup pumpkin purée (solid pack pumpkin) ($0.57)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon ($0.05)
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg ($0.02)
Instructions
- Add the heavy cream to a glass or metal mixing bowl and whip with a stand mixer, hand mixer, or a whisk until it begins to thicken and the beaters begin to leave a trail in the cream. At that point add the vanilla extract and 2 Tbsp of the sugar. Continue to whisk until stiff peaks form.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, pumpkin purée, cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and the remaining 2 Tbsp sugar until smooth. Make sure no lumps of cream cheese remain in the mixture.
- Transfer a large scoop of the whipped cream to the bowl with the pumpkin mixture and fold the two together to help lighten up the pumpkin mixture.
- Transfer about 1/3 of the pumpkin mixture back to the bowl with the whipped cream and gently fold them together. Once incorporated, repeat with the second 1/3 of the mixture, and then again once more with the final third of the pumpkin mixture. Make sure to fold gently and do not vigorously stir to prevent the whipped cream from losing its volume.
- Once the mixtures are fully incorporated and smooth, the mousse is ready to serve. Or, chill until ready to eat.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse – Step by Step Photos
Begin by whipping 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 Tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. I like to wait until the cream starts to thicken a bit before adding the sugar and vanilla. If you’ve never whipped cream before, “stiff peaks” means that when you lift the beaters out of the cream, the little peaks that are left in the bowl stand upright and do not slump over. Be careful not to overbeat the cream, though, because it can begin to break down and separate.
In a separate bowl, combine 4 oz. room temperature cream cheese, 1 cup pumpkin purée, 2 Tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground cloves, and 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg.
Beat the cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar, and spices together until they are smooth and no lumps of cream cheese remain (this is why it’s important to use room temperature cream cheese).
Take a hefty scoop of the whipped cream and add that to the pumpkin mixture. Fold them together to give the pumpkin mixture some lightness.
Now take 1/3 of that lightened pumpkin mixture and fold it into the bowl with the rest of the whipped cream. Make sure not to stir vigorously or you risk deflating your whipped cream. Just fold gently and watch the pretty swirls of orange and white.
Repeat that two more times until all of the pumpkin mixture has been folded into the whipped cream. And that’s it! The Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse is ready to eat!
And while it really is good with these Cinnamon Pita Crisps, just give me a spoon already. It was REALLY hard to not just eat it all right away, but I think I like it even more after chilling a bit!
Can half and half be used instead of the heavy cream? Will it change the texture?
Hi, Dianne! Unfortunately, half & half won’t whip like heavy cream because it doesn’t have a high enough fat content. So substituting it, in this case, would likely lead to an unsuccessful result. There is a hack you can look up online for making heavy cream with h&h (by mixing it with melted butter). However, I have never used this technique in a recipe that requires going on to whip the cream…so I don’t know if it will work in this application! (In theory, it *should* work. I would make sure to chill the mixture first and then try to whip it.) If you do try it, let me know how it goes! ~Marion :)
Can this be made ahead of time and froze?
I actually tried to freeze this to see if it turned out like no-churn ice cream, but it did not. Haha. It was rock hard when frozen and wasn’t good after being thawed. :P
I found this recipe a few days before Christmas and I knew I had to make it! I was not disappointed! It was light, soft, fluffy and I loved the texture. The best part was how delicious it was! Everyone’s eyes lit up when they tasted this delightful treat. I served it with Graham crackers.
Thank you for sharing this awesome dessert. xx
My only substitute was using Neufchatel cheese instead of regular cream cheese – worked great; thanks for the recipe! The serving suggestion with cinnamon pita crisps was perfect.