Enjoy delicious flavours of the beloved pumpkin pie without the fuss! This feather light pumpkin mousse layered with crushed ginger cookies and whipped cream is delicious, quick to make and a joy to look at!
If you love all things pumpkin, take a look at my quick Spiced Pumpkin Mug Cake. Ready in 3 minutes!
It’s difficult not to get excited with so many holidays right around the corner and I am in full planning mode. You might find it a bit early but I am already dreaming up my holiday table, laughs and conversations included.
Although I’ve already made a pumpkin pie this year my family is not satisfied with just one. I am a big pumpkin pie fan myself but don’t like to faff around with the pastry. So this year I decided to bring all the goodness of a pumpkin pie together but ditch the crust!
Meet Pumpkin Mousse Trifle. Fluffy mousse layers sandwiched between crushed ginger cookies and whipped cream. Easy, quick and delicious.
How do you make pumpkin mousse?
Pumpkin mousse is quick and easy to make. Although sounds fancy, pumpkin mousse is nothing but a combination of pumpkin puree (use your own or canned), egg yolks, sugar, pumpkin pie spices and whipped cream.
The mixture is set with gelatine and flavoured with Galliano, a vanilla liqueur, that is gelatine is dissolved in.
If you want to keep this pumpkin mousse alcohol free, simply substitute Galliano with water and add an extra teaspoon of vanilla to the mix.
Can I make Thanksgiving dessert ahead of time?
One of the best things about this gorgeous mousse is that it should be made ahead of time. It needs several hours to set properly.
So you can prepare the dessert a day ahead leaving the day of celebration free for other tasks.
More pumpkin dessert to try:
- Autumn Mississippi Mud Pie
- Spiced Pumpkin and Chocolate Cake with Maple Cinnamon Frosting
- Pumpkin Loaf with Butterscotch Streusel Topping
- Pumpkin Pie with Chocolate Swirl
- Toffee Pumpkin Muffins
Recipe originally published in 11/2016. Updated with new text and ingredients in 10/2019.
Ingredients
For the pumpkin mousse
- 2 tsp unflavoured gelatine
- 60ml/¼ cup Galliano or any other vanilla flavoured liqueur
- 400g/1 ¾ cups pumpkin puree your own or canned
- 200g/1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks, large
- 1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ ground ginger
- ¼ ground cloves
- ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp. salt
- 250ml/1 cup heavy cream
- 1½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
For the trifle
- 7-8 ginger cookies crumbled
- 250ml/1 cup double/heavy cream
- 4 tbsp icing/powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
For the pumpkin mousse
- Pour Galliano in a small microwavable bowl and sprinkle gelatine powder over it, let stand for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl combine pumpkin puree, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and vanilla and egg yolks, mix with a whisk until well combined.
- Put the bowl with Galliano and gelatine in the microwave and heat it on high for 1 minute, gelatine should be fully dissolved.
- Pour the gelatine mixture into the pumpkin mixture and combine.
- Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form and gently fold it into the pumpkin mixture.
- In a medium bowl combine heavy cream with icing sugar and vanilla and whip with a hand mixer until soft peaks form.
- Crumble the cookies and set aside.
To assemble the trifle
- Layer the pumpkin mousse, crumbled ginger cookies and whipped cream in small glasses starting with the pumpkin mousse and finishing with crumbled cookies as shown in photos.
- Chill in a refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Notes
Was a bit of a challenge converting ingredients I can find in Italy (gelatin in sheets, amaretti cookies instead of ginger, vanillina powder instead of liquid vanilla, etc) and sizing the recipe up to 60 servings, but this was a HUGE hit for our “American” Thanksgiving dinner for the Italians in my valley! Thank you for this deliciousness!
I am absolutely thrilled to hear that, Iz! Amaretti cookies sound like a perfect substitute. Happy Thanksgiving!
Looks absolutely delicious – you know my weakness for all things pumpkin!
Thanks, Lucy!! I am so happy you like it, my pumpkin loving friend! 😉