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Ingredients
- Cake
- 2/3 * 2/3 cup cake flour
- 1 1/2 * 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 * 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 * 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 * 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 * 2 large eggs
- 1 1/4 * 1 1/4 cups packed Demerara sugar
- 1/4 * 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 * 1 cup good quality pure pumpkin purée
- 2 * 2 tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger
- Milk Chocolate Mousse
- 30 * 30 ounces (2 pound) milk chocolate, cut into ¼ inch pieces
- 1 * 1 cup milk
- 1 * 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 * 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 2 * 2 cups heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
- Sour Cream Mousse
- 3/4 * 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 * 1 vanilla bean, pulp only
- 1 * 1 teaspoon icing sugar
- 1 * 1 gelatin leaf
- 3/4 * 3/4 cup sour cream
- Candied Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 * 1 cup raw shelled pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 * 1/4 cup simple syrup
Preparation
Step 1
Directions
Cake
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Sift together flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder, ground nutmeg and ground allspice into a bowl. Set aside.
3. In a kitchen mixer with a whisk attachment, whip together eggs with Demerara and granulated sugar until fluffy. Mix in pumpkin purée. Fold in the sifted dry ingredients and candied ginger. The batter should be quite thin.
4. Butter and flour a baking sheet, then line with parchment paper (to remove it in one piece helps to prevent center from sticking to pan). Turn out batter onto sheet and spread evenly to form a rectangle a little larger than 9 by 13 inches. Bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until done (a toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean). Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
5. When cake has cooled, place a 9 by 13inch rectangular cake pan on top of it and use a sharp knife to cut around the edge of the cake pan. (Cake can be made ahead of time. Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, it will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.)
Milk Chocolate Mousse
1. Place chopped milk chocolate in a large stainless steel bowl.
2. Combine milk, cream and corn syrup in a saucepan on medium heat and bring to a boil. Pour over milk chocolate and stir until it melts. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then fold in whipped cream.
3. Pour chocolate mousse into a 9 by 13 inch rectangular cake pan lined with plastic wrap. Place cake on top of mousse and press gently to ensure a tight fit. Refrigerate for 8 hours, or until mousse has completely set. (Mousse cake can be made ahead; will keep in the refrigerator for 4 days and in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Sour Cream Mousse
1. Combine cream, vanilla bean pulp and icing sugar in a chilled bowl; whip until it reaches stiff peaks. (Save vanilla bean itself for another use.) Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Place gelatin leaf in a bowl and cover with cold water. Allow to sit for about 2 minutes to soften.
3. Place ¼ of the sour cream in a saucepan on low heat and warm gently. Take out gelatin leaf from cold water and squeeze gently to remove any excess water. Remove sour cream from the heat and add gelatin leaf, stirring until it dissolves. Quickly fold gelatin mixture into the remaining sour cream and then fold into whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Candied Pumpkin Seeds
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Toss pumpkin seeds with simple syrup in a bowl, until seeds are well coated. Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until pumpkin seeds are nicely toasted and slightly puffed.
Assembly
1. Place a parchment-lined baking sheet over the open top of the cake pan. In one motion, turn over both the baking sheet and the pan together, so that the baking sheet is on the bottom. Gently pull off the cake pan and pull down on the plastic wrap to release the mousse cake.
2. Use a warmed knife to cut mousse cake into 2 ½ inch squares. Top with a small dollop of sour cream mousse and some candied pumpkin seeds.