Pumpkin Souffle

If you won't have a pumpkin pie, then you must have a pumpkin souffle this Thanksgivings. A perfect dessert for a small family on a gloomy fall day or cold Christmas day. Nothing beats the light and fluffy yet custardy dessert with all the flavors of fall in a spoon full.

Are you a pumpkin person? I think there is something called 'pumpkin people' because there are those of us who love pumpkin so much we can use it in everything and then there are those (like my husband) who wonder why the 'pumpkin people' are so crazy about pumpkin. 

What would you do if you don't wanna have pumpkin pie for dessert this Thanksgiving? Well, you can make this souffle. My kids will often ask for souffle in winter because it's warm food on a cold winter weekend.

About this souffle

The recipe is simple and easy custard-base made with egg yolks and milk along with pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice. We then fold in whipped egg whites and bake these into this light and airy as a cloud dessert.

These rise so high and then settle down so quickly as well. I love to keep my souffle a bit custardy in the center which means these loose height even faster but are more delicious.

The most important, of course, is to make these just before you are going to serve them. As you can see from the video by the time I took pictures, the pictures did not do justice to the height I got in the oven.

Ingredients and substitutes

• Pumpkin Puree - I usually make my own homemade pumpkin puree. Well, there is so much pumpkin around these days so why not, plus it's more delicious! But you can definitely use canned pumpkin puree for this recipe. The can puree is not as thick as the one you see in the video but that does not matter because you will cook it down anyways.
• All-purpose flour - I use regular plain flour. Do not use any cake or pastry flour. I have not tried it with any others so I can't tell you if it works or not.
• Large eggs - To me, large eggs are about 50 60 grams. You do want large egg whites so the souffle had a good meringue base to puff up.
• Milk - I use regular full-fat milk. You can also use coconut milk if you want to skip on dairy.
• Butter - again, you can use margarine or omit the butter.
• Cream cheese - If you want more pumpkin flavor, add more pumpkin puree but omit the cream cheese.
• Nutmeg - I have this as optional because often it's already included in the pumpkin spice, so some people may find it too much.

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Step by step instructions (pin)

Prepare

• Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 360 F.
• Butter and sugar 6 x 6 oz ramekins or 3 x 10 oz ramekins.

Custard base

• In a heavy-bottom saucepan combine - egg yolks, sugar, salt, cream cheese, pumpkin puree, vanilla, flour, milk (I use a bowl and whisk for the purpose of the video)
• Cook stirring continuously until thickened and reduced to ⅓ its original amount (almost pasty). Set aside to cool to just warm

Meringue

• In a bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip together egg whites, sugar, and salt until you have almost stiff peaks

Assemble and bake

• Fold the cooled (barely warm) custard base with the prepared meringue.
• Spoon into prepared ramekins. Level the tops with a spoon
• Place them on a baking tray, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes until lightly golden on top
• The center will still be wobbly and custardy.
• These are served as soon as they come out of the oven. Dust with powdered sugar before you serve.

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Frequently asked questions

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