Want to truly impress this Thanksgiving with a homemade dessert that is a bit more inventive that the ubiquitous pumpkin pie? Try this Warm Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Ganache, Pumpkin Pecan Brittle and Butter Pecan Ice Cream from the talented Kaushik Chowdhury, Executive Pastry Chef at JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa.
Warm Chocolate Pumpkin Cake
2 cups Cake flour
1/4 cup Cocoa powder
2 teaspoons Baking soda
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 tablespoon spice
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg
6 Eggs
1 1/3 cups Oil
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1/2 cup Pumpkin puree
Mix sugar, brown sugar, salt and spices with a paddle. Add eggs, oil and vanilla and mix until completely blended. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin puree. Mix until smooth. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.
Cinnamon Ganache
1/2 cup Dark chocolate
1/2 cup Heavy cream
2 tablespoons Glucose
Pinch of cinnamon
Bring the cream to a boil and pour over chocolate and glucose. Add cinnamon and mix until the ganache is smooth.
Pumpkin Pecan Brittle
2 1/4 cups Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Pectin
1 1/3 cups Butter
3/4 cup Glucose
1/2 cup Water
1/4 cup Flour
1/4 cup Pumpkin puree
3/4 cup Pecans, chopped
Melt butter and glucose. Add sugar and pectin. Stir in flour, pumpkin puree and water and bring to a boil. Add chopped pecans. Spread mixture on a silicon paper sheet and bake at 350° for approximately 10 minutes. Cut brittle into desired shape.
Butter Pecan Ice Cream
2 1/2 cups Evaporated milk
2 tablespoons Milk powder
1 teaspoon Tahitian vanilla
3/4 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Stabilizer
2 Egg yolks
1/2 cup Pecans, chopped
1/4 cup Butter
Toast the pecans and butter, set aside to cool. Mix evaporated milk, milk powder, vanilla, sugar and stabilizer in a pan and bring to a boil. Temper in the egg yolks and cook until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Place in refrigerator until completely cooled. Spin in an ice cream freezer until done. Fold in toasted pecans.
1 3/4 cups Pumpkin puree
3/4 cup Apple juice
1/4 cup, 1 tsp Sugar, Pectin
3 cups Sugar
1/2 cup Glucose
1 tablespoon Citric acid
Bring pumpkin puree and apple juice to a boil. Add sugar and pectin combo and bring to a boil again. Add remaining sugar, glucose and citric acid. Continue heating until it reaches 107°C. Pour mixture on a silicon sheet and cool. Cut into desired shape.
To Plate: Warm the pumpkin chocolate cake. Pour the ganache on top. Place a rectangular sheet of the pumpkin pecan brittle large enough to cover the top of the cake. Put a small strip of pumpkin pate de fruit next to cake. Top the pumpkin pecan brittle with butter pecan ice cream. Garnish the ice cream with a ring of the pumpkin pecan brittle.
Recipe: Thanksgiving Dessert
