Pumpkin-Filled Cream Puffs With Maple-Caramel Sauce
photo by Marie Nixon
- 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
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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Reviews
-
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.