We love our Pumpkin Soufflé with Cognac Cream. It manages to encompass all those fantastic Thanksgiving flavors (pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove) all into one light-as-air bite! Who could be too full to refuse? Especially when served with boozy whipped cream!
If you have the ramekins (or cute coffee cups), make individual soufflés (they are so elegant!) and fun to serve at your family holiday dinners. Otherwise, you can make one large pumpkin soufflé. Note that it will take longer to cook, but the treatment is exactly the same.
Cozy up with Hipcooks this fall for our festive fall classes. You can learn our version of this dessert in our Home for holidays class. Find our class schedules for Southern California and Portland! www.hipcooks.com
Make-ahead notes: Prepare the soufflé as above, but instead of baking, pop the ramekins into the freezer. Once frozen, they are easily transportable short distances. When you're ready, they can go straight from freezer to oven.)
Ingredients
4 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons flour
¾ cup milk
3 egg yolks
6 egg whites
½ cup sugar
½ canned pumpkin
Thanksgiving spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and/or ground ginger — just a pinch or 2 in total
2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons cognac or brandy
Vanilla bean paste or powdered sugar, to tasteInstructions
Butter and lightly sugar the ramekins.
Melt the butter over low heat and whisk in the flour, stirring until thick. Cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes, and then add the milk and about half of the sugar, whisking all the while. It will thicken slightly. Remove from the heat, and add the egg yolks one by one, stirring in between. Add the pumpkin and sprinkle in the spices until you feel happy and Thanksgiving-y.
Whip the whites until stiff and just dry. How do you know? Because you can hold them over your head safely! Slowly sprinkle in the remaining sugar while the beater is running.
Next, fold the egg whites into the pumpkin mixture by adding a little of the whites to loosen (the sacrifice!) Fold in the remaining whites and fill each ramekin with the mixture, leveling off the tops. Set aside.
Make the whipped cream using a whisk or machine-power. Add cognac to taste, and a little vanilla bean paste. It should be just sweet enough. If not, add powdered sugar until it is to your liking. Chill in the fridge.
When you are ready to bake the °F, convections, preheat your oven to 350°F, convection. Bake these little guys about 10 to 15 minutes, until they are slightly browned and just beginning to cracking on the top. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve straight away (on top of a dessert plate), with the whipped cream on the side.
Notes
