Recipe Monday: Pumpkin Mousse

     Fall has officially started in Memphis! The cool weather has arrived, and I am going all out on the autumnal recipes.  Although Florida was great fun, but by the end of the week, I was ready to ditch the shorts, stop shaving my legs every three days, and bring out the puffy vest.
     My mom and I went on our daily three-mile walk this morning, and I snapped a couple of pictures along the way.

    

See all those pretty yellow leaves?

 Thankfully, the air was quite brisk this morning. I think it might be time to put the short Nike shorts away for the season...or maybe just add leggings when I go out to exercise! 

Isn't that view gorgeous? Props to my mad photo skills for taking this picture while walking at a 14 minute pace :)

     Now for the real reason you've come. Pumpkin mousse. The whole reason behind this recipe is that when autumn comes, I want to eat every pumpkin chip muffin, cookie, candy, butter-filled food I set my eyes on.  In my efforts to eat healthy (and as gluten and lactose free as I can), I feel very guilty craving all this deliciousness. For my usual Monday night contribution to the pot-luck Downton Abbey dinner at my house, I needed something laden with autumnal goodness without all the carbs.

     Behold, pumpkin mousse. 

     Now I know what you're thinking. Mousse? Isn't cream (aka-lactose) the most important ingredient in mousse? Well the answer is yes. Sometimes, I have to just pop a 24-hour heartburn relief tablet and know that I am not eating something made with butter and flour. That's good enough, right? 

     This recipe gave me a bit of heartache. Since I was making the recipe up on my own, I wasn't entirely sure how much of egg whites and cream needed to go per serving. I started out with one whole batch, dished it into glasses and realized that I had five skimpy portions when I need seven normal sized ones. So I separated a few more eggs and started up my hand mixer. After five minutes on high, they were watery and nasty. So I had a mini meltdown, trashed the soupy whites, and brought out the Kitchenaid. I repeated all the steps and came up with perfect mousse. 

Pumpkin Mousse 

serves 6

6 egg whites

4 1/2 c. heavy cream

1 can pumpkin

4 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

3 tbsp. honey

1. Use a hand mixer or Kitchenaid to beat the egg white to stiff peaks. Transfer the whites to another large bowl.

2. Rinse the beaters, and whip the cream until very stiff. Fold into the egg whites.

3. Add the pumpkin, spices, and honey. Fold in gently.

4. Portion out mousse into individual bowls. Chill for at least 3 hours prior to serving.

The mousse is great by itself, but is even better when you make a crumble topping. Combine 2 tbsp. melted butter, 3/4 c. oats, 2 tbsp. brown sugar, a handful of minced almonds if desires. Mix and spread on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until crispy. Sprinkle on top of mousse. 

Enjoy!