Spicy Pumpkin Mousse

Pumpkins are native to the New World, but were brought back to Europe by Christopher Columbus. This lightly spiced mousse is ideal for Thanksgiving—you can easily double the quantities of the ingredients for a crowd. This dessert would be delicious served in ready-to-fill chocolate cups, available in many markets and specialty food stores.—Joanna Pruess

Serves: 6

• 1 ¾ cups fresh or canned pumpkin purée
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. white pepper
• Grated zest of 1 orange
• 3 Tbsp. Grand Marnier or Triple Sec
• 1 package unflavored gelatin
• 2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 6 ginger snaps, crumbled for garnish

1. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, pepper, orange zest and Grand Marnier and stir to blend well.

2. Dissolve gelatin in the orange juice in a small bowl.

3. Combine egg yolks and sugar in a small bowl and beat until thick and lemon colored.

4. Scald the ¼ cup cream and vanilla in a small saucepan. Add the softened gelatin to the pan and stir until entirely dissolved. Pour mixture into egg yolks, beating continuously. Scrape the cream-egg mixture into the pumpkin and stir until smooth.

5. Whip remaining 1 cup of cream until stiff. Reserve about 1/3 cup for the garnish. Fold cream into the pumpkin mixture and, when incorporated, scrape pumpkin mixture into a 2-quart mold or 6 individual ramekins. Cover and chill several hours or overnight.

6. To serve, pipe reserved whipped cream in rosettes on top of the mousse for decoration and drizzle on the ginger snap crumbs.

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