Pumpkin Soufflé is like eating pumpkin clouds. If you don’t like the heavier desserts often made with pumpkin this is the perfect dessert to end a savory dinner when all you want is that little taste of sweet. While you might not make these at Thanksgiving if you’re serving a crowd, you might consider these as a perfect ending to a roast pork or roast chicken dinner.
This is a show stopper, as long as you can wait until the last minute to bake them.You must serve them immediately, because they will fall; however, they don’t fall that much, and they still taste good.
When I opened the oven and saw how much they rose, I was so excited. Not only did they rise well, the texture was so pleasing, because some souffles can be just airy sugar, but the pumpkin gives these body. I surprised my neighbors by ringing the bell and asking to eat and give me feedback. They ate them right up and claimed this pumpkin soufflé a winner.
The taste and texture are so nice, you can eat these as is, and there is no need for powdered sugar. However, I do like the addition of a little ice cream dropped right in, especially cinnamon ice cream. I’ve given you a recipe for homemade cinnamon ice cream, but I also want to tell you about a shortcut for cinnamon ice cream.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons homemade pumpkin pie spice
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar divided, plus additional for coating ramekins
- 1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
- 8 large egg whites
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Place rack in bottom third.
- Whisk together cornstarch, spices, sugar. Add to milk and heat in saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer for two minutes, whisking the whole time. Remove from heat and add pumpkin. Cool. (I put in freezer while I was beating the egg whites).
- Beat egg whites with salt and when soft peaks form, add sugar until stiff (see picture for texture).
- Fold pumpkin mixture in until fully incorporated.
- Butter cups and add sugar. The sugar will help the soufflé rise.
- To keep soufflé even, place soufflé cups on baking dish.
- Fill each ramekin to a little more than full.
- Bake for 17-20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Cinnamon Ice Cream Recipe
Cinnamon ice cream made fresh with vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks.
Ingredients
- 1 cup 250ml whole milk
- 3/4 cup 150g sugar
- pinch of salt
- 3-5 cinnamon sticks broken up (in a mortar & pestle, or with a hammer in a ziptop bag)
- 2 cups 500ml heavy cream
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon: optional
Instructions
- Split vanilla bean and add to milk. (or use a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract).
- Heat milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks and 1 cup heavy cream in saucepan.
- Heat the milk, sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon sticks, and 1 cup (250ml) of the heavy cream together in a medium saucepan. Cover, remove from heat, and let steep 1 hour. Pour through a mesh strainer.
- Rewarm the mixture and remove the cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon.
- Whisk egg yolks together and temper, by adding in some of the warm cinnamon infused milk, whisking constantly. Once tempered, add yolks with milk into the saucepan with milk. Continue to cook over low heat until the mixture is thick and coats back of a wooden spoon.
- Remove from heat and immediately pour the custard through the strainer into the cream. Stir the custard until cool, then chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.
- Once very cool, taste to see if there is enough cinnamon flavor. Add more if necessary.
- Churn in ice cream machine.
- Add the end add a tablespoon of vodka (helps ice cream not to be icy).
