Pumpkin Mousse Cake 8 Servings
Finish off your meal with our naturally good dessert composed of maple-sweetened cake topped with a rich pumpkin mousse and a swirl of carob fudge sauce.
Prep Time: 50 minutes
Baking Time: 20 minutes
Chilling Time: 2 hours
Cake:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup soy milk
Mousse:
4 cups butternut squash; peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cups pumpkin; peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 3/4 cups unfiltered apple juice
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons agar flakes
1 tablespoon kuzu
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup tahini
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Carob Fudge Sauce:
1/8 cup carob powder
1/2 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 cup soy milk
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 9-inch springform pan.
2. To make cake, sift flours, sea salt and baking powder into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just blended. Pour batter into springform pan and bake for 20 minutes. Place cake on a cooling rack. Do not remove from pan.
3. To make pumpkin mousse, place pumpkin and squash in a large saucepan with 1 cup apple juice, a pinch of salt, cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, clove and nutmeg. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and cook for 30 minutes or until squash is soft. Remove cinnamon stick.
4. Place 1/2 cup apple juice and 2 tablespoons agar flakes in a small saucepan. Let sit for 10 minutes. Over medium heat, bring agar mixture to a slow simmer. Do not boil. Cook for 10 minutes on low heat.
5. Dissolve 1 tablespoon kuzu in 1/4 cup apple juice. Add to agar mixture. Stir with a whisk until starchy-white color disappears. Add maple syrup, tahini and vanilla extract. Continue to stir with whisk until blended. Add to cooked squash. Puree squash mixture in food processor to creamy consistency.
6. To make carob fudge sauce, combine carob powder, canola oil, maple syrup, vanilla and soy milk in a small glass bowl. Mix well. Sauce should be thick but pourable.
7. To assemble dessert, pour pumpkin mousse mixture over cake in springform pan. Dribble the carob sauce over the mousse to create four horizontal, joined lines. Drag a chopstick across the carob in a similar pattern to create a marbleized effect. Cover cake with clear plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Remove springform pan ring from cake before serving.
