I always prefer to bring a homemade dessert to parties and family events when I can, but I know that there isn’t always time to put together an elaborate cake, a homemade pie or even a batch of cupcakes. Fortunately, there are plenty of easy desserts out there that still look absolutely stunning and will wow anyone at your next event. This Easy Pumpkin Tiramisu is one of them. The recipe is no-bake and starts out with just a few ingredients that, when combined, turn into a luscious, creamy and spicy dessert.
The cream for this recipe is made with mascarpone cheese, cream cheese and pumpkin puree. I found that cream cheese adds a little extra dimension to the pumpkin and a nice overall flavor to the dessert. I sweetened it up with some confectioners’ sugar and a hint of maple syrup, then added in pumpkin pie spice (my homemade blend) and vanilla to bring all the elements together. The end result is delicious – light and creamy, with a good pumpkin flavor but one that is milder than a pumpkin pie. It feels light, so it’s not hard to eat a piece after a big meal, either.
Like most tiramisus, I dipped my ladyfingers in espresso (very strong coffee also works well) before adding them to the dessert. Espresso and pumpkin may seem like an unusual combination, but just think about how popular pumpkin spice drinks are at Starbucks and other coffee shops in the fall and you’ll realize that the flavors actually go quite well together! I added a little vanilla and a pinch of pumpkin pie spice to flavor the coffee and to help really tie the coffee in to the rest of the dessert.
This dessert doesn’t take much time to make, but it does taste best if it has a couple of hours to sit so that the flavors can meld together. Make it the night before and leave it, covered, in the fridge overnight. Three or four hours in the fridge will do the trick, too (so you can chill it while you’re eating Thanksgiving dinner, for instance!), if you want to speed things along even more. Serve it with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar or a little dollop of whipped cream.
Easy Pumpkin Tiramisu
8-oz mascarpone cheese
8-oz cream cheese
15-oz (1 can) pumpkin puree
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, divided
1 1/4 cups strong coffee or espresso
1 tbsp brandy (optional)
approx 30-36 ladyfingers
In a large mixing bowl, beat mascarpone, cream cheese, pumpkin puree, confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup, 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice and vanilla extract at high speed until mixture is creamy and very smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
In a small, shallow bowl, combine coffee, remaining 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and remaining 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice. Whisk to combine. Add brandy, if using. Dip each ladyfinger into the coffee mixture to let it soak up some of the liquid (about 2 seconds) and place in the bottom of a 9×9-inch baking dish. The bottom of the pan should be completely covered with the ladyfingers in a single layer. Do not completely soak the ladyfingers in the coffee mixture.
When there is a full layer of ladyfingers, spread half of the pumpkin mixture on top of them. Repeat with remaining ladyfingers and cream mixture.
Cover and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 4 hours.
Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Serves 9-12
Linda
November 21, 2012Looks amazing. Wish I had that for tomorrow. I will definitely be trying that recipe! Happy Thanksgivig.
Linda
November 28, 2012Made this for a co-worker who loves pumpkin cheesecake. I talked him into trying this instead. All he could say was WOW. Definitely a super easy one but so amazing both presentation wise and taste wise.