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🎃 Chilled holiday desserts

Ina Garten's pumpkin mousse tart

Light, creamy pumpkin cloud in a graham cracker shell

⏱️ Time estimate: about 1 hour, plus chilling

A graham cracker tart shell filled with pumpkin mousse enriched with brown sugar, banana, orange zest, and whipped cream.

Ina Garten's pumpkin mousse tart

Ingredients

For the crust

  • 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter

For the filling

  • 1 can pumpkin puree, 15 ounces
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 3 extra-large egg yolks
  • 1 packet unflavored gelatin, about 2 teaspoons
  • 1 ripe banana, finely mashed
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
  • 1/2 cup cold heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

For the topping

  • 1 cup cold heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • Orange zest, optional

Instructions

  1. Bake the crust. Heat the oven to 350°F. Mix the graham crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and butter, press into an 11-inch tart pan, and bake 10 minutes. Cool.
  2. Cook the pumpkin base. Heat the pumpkin, half-and-half, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg over simmering water until hot. Temper the yolks with some of the hot mixture, then return them to the bowl and cook a few minutes more until slightly thickened.
  3. Finish the mousse base. Dissolve the gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water, then stir it into the pumpkin mixture along with the banana and orange zest. Cool about 30 minutes.
  4. Fold in whipped cream. Whip 1/2 cup cream to soft peaks, add 2 tablespoons sugar, and whip to firm peaks. Fold gently into the cooled pumpkin mixture.
  5. Chill. Pour into the cooled shell and chill for 2 hours or overnight.
  6. Decorate. Whip the remaining cream with sugar and vanilla to firm peaks, pipe or spoon over the tart, and scatter with orange zest if you like.

This is a lovely make-ahead dessert, all the holiday flavor of pumpkin pie with a lighter, silkier landing.