With Thanksgiving coming up tomorrow, our former intern Paris shares her twist on a Turkey Day classic, pumpkin pie!

Pumpkin Banana Caramel Mousse Tart

Caramel Sauce:
¼ cup of butter (half a stick)
½ a cup of dark brown sugar
1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Crust:
18 ginger snap cookies
20 Nilla Wafers
6 tablespoons of butter
(Or you can use a store-bought graham cracker crust)

Pumpkin Banana Caramel Mousse:
½ a cup of half and half
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 14 oz can of pumpkin puree
1 cup of dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon of salt
3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
½ teaspoon of ginger
3 large egg yolks
1 package of unflavored gelatin
¼ cup of cold water
1 over ripe banana smashed
½ cup of heavy cream
2 tablespoons of sugar
*Slightly adapted from Ina Garten

Whipped Cream:
1 cup of heavy cream
¼ cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Start with the caramel sauce which is very easy. Melt the butter in a pot or pan over medium high heat. Once melted, add the brown sugar and stir until thoroughly combined. Continue stirring for 2 more minutes. Whisk in the whipping cream (mixture will bubble) and continue to stir for another minute and a half. Add vanilla and whisk. Pour the caramel into a bowl and keep cool in the fridge (it will thicken).

3. Pour the cookies into a food processor and pulse until the cookies are turned into crumbs. Melt butter and add to the crumbs until they are evenly moistened. Press the crust into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Bake for about 9 minutes or until slightly browned. Take out and let cool while making the filling.

4. Put the half and half, vanilla, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a glass bowl over slightly boiling water, creating a double boiler. Whisk until hot, about five minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and add about a ¼ cup of the pumpkin mixture to temper them. Add the egg pumpkin mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir well. Keep whisking over the double boiler for another 4 minutes, or until it begins to thicken. Take the pumpkin mixture off of the heat.

5. Dissolve the gelatin in a ¼ cup of cold water. Put the banana and the dissolved gelatin into the pumpkin mixture. Mix well. Add a half cup of the caramel sauce made earlier into the pumpkin mixture and mix thoroughly. Take the heavy whipping cream and whip with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, gradually add the sugar and whip until stiff peaks are formed. Fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin mixture. Pour the filling into the tart shell (you will have a little extra, I used mine and made pumpkin icebox cupcakes!) and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

6. Make the brown sugar whipped cream by putting the heavy whipping cream, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks are formed. Put the whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a tip (I used a star shaped tip) and pipe the whipped cream onto the tart. Drizzle with caramel.

7. Cut the tart and serve. Enjoy! 

FILED UNDER: just eat it , paris starn , mini martha , baking , pie , dessert