Pumpkin Parfait is like pumpkin pie in a glass. Light and fluffy with mascarpone mixed in and you don’t have to make a pie crust.
My family is not a big fan of pumpkin pie, but for the holidays you have to have pumpkin. I have been experimenting with making pumpkin parfaits so that everyone could have a little taste of pumpkin without having to commit to an entire piece of pie. I finally came up with a combination that I love. My kids took 1-2 bites and decided I could eat theirs and they would stick to apple pie. Oh well, I tried.
I used mascarpone and whipped cream for the bottom layer, more whipped cream and seasoning for the pumpkin layer and then whipped cream for the top. Since the mascarpone and pumpkin layer are on the sweet side, you don’t need to add sugar to the whipped cream on top. Between these luscious layers, I crumbled Biscoff cookies, yum.
I thought this was the perfect way to get a taste of pumpkin but in what seemed like a lighter form. By light, I don’t mean less calories, this has plenty of those, but not as heavy as a piece of pumpkin pie.
I can’t figure out how to get it in the glasses without getting them smudgy. I think I’ll try using a pastry bag next time.
Pumpkin Parfait
Ingredients
Pumpkin Layer
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1 cup heavy cream divided
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Mascarpone Layer
- 4 ounces mascarpone softened
- 2 teaspoons vanila
- 1 cup Biscoff/gingersnap cookies crumbled
- nutmeg and powdered sugar garnish
Instructions
- Whip heavy cream. Reserve a small amount for topping.
- In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, ½ of the whipped cream, ½ cup powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Beat at medium speed with a hand mixer until well combined. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine mascarpone cheese, ½ of the whipped cream, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until smooth.
- Crumble Biscoff cookies to make about 1 cup of crumbs.
- In small glasses, layer mascarpone cheese mixture, then a layer of cookie crumbles, then a layer of the pumpkin mixture. Top with a small dollop of the reserved unsweetened whipped cream and sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg and powdered sugar.. Garnish with a cookie.
hey barb! yum, think I could use whole milk ricotta in a pinch? also plan to use Spekulatius cookies from Aldi… keep up the awesome posts!!
Since ricotta isn’t as sweet, you might need to add a little powdered sugar. Let me know how they turn out.