Pumpkin-Filled Cream Puffs With Maple-Caramel Sauce

Submitted by LDSMom128

"Got this in my BH&G daily recipe e-mail. I want to try this for Thanksgiving!"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 35mins
• Ingredients: 18
• Yields: 8 Cream Puffs
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• Cream Puffs

• 3⁄4 cup water
• 1⁄3 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
• 3⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 1⁄2 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

• Pumpkin Mousse Filling

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup canned pumpkin

• Maple-Caramel Sauce

• 1⁄2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• stir in 1/3 cup half-and-half or light cream
• 1⁄4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla

directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
2. To make the Cream Puffs: In a medium saucepan combine water, butter, sugar, and salt. Bring to boiling over medium heat. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball and pulls away from the side of the pan. Remove from heat; cool for 10 minutes. Add eggs one at a time beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition.
3. Drop 8 heaping tablespoons of dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and firm. Transfer cream puffs to a wire rack and let cool.
4. To make the Pumpkin Mousse Filling: using a chilled large mixing bowl beat 1 cup whipping cream, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice with the chilled beaters of an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (tips curl). Fold in 1 cup canned pumpkin. Cover and chill for up to 4 hours.
5. To make the Maple-Caramel sauce: In a small heavy saucepan stir together 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Stir in 1/3 cup half-and-half or light cream, 1/4 cup water, 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon butter.
6. Cook and stir over medium heat until slightly thickened and bubbly (mixture may appear curdled before it bubbles). Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
7. Using a serrated knife, cut each cream puff in half horizontally; remove soft dough from inside. Fill cream puffs with Pumpkin Mousse. Replace tops. Spoon some of the warm Maple-Caramel Sauce onto eight dessert plates; sprinkle with some of the toasted pecans.
8. Place a filled cream puff on top of the sauce on each plate. Drizzle each cream puff with remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining pecans. Cover and chill for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Reviews

[Marie Nixon]

I'm glad I chose this to be one of our Thanksgiving Day desserts. You get all of the flavor of a pumpkin pie but in a very, very light and not very sweet mousse filling. And the maple-caramel sauce is so wonderful. It is a beautiful golden brown color. I made the dessert in stages. First night I made the cream puffs. That took about a total of 1 hour from start to finish. I made 16 small cream puffs rather than 8 large cream puffs. The next night I made the pumpkin mousse. That literally took 10 minutes from start to finish. And then the maple-caramel sauce took about 10 -15 minutes. I stored the mousse and the maple-caramel sauce in the refrigerator for 2 days. I assembled the dessert after Thanksgiving dinner. I will make these again and recommend them to others to try.

 

[ChloeBaby]

Oh these were so good! My favourite dessert is profiteroles and my husband's is pumpkin pie, and these are the perfect mix of both. I'm not waiting for thanksgiving to make these again! Thanks for sharing.