Fall is one of my favorite seasons to be in town. I’m lucky to have a window overlooking a park, and following the daily change in colors with my daughter feels like an ongoing nature class.
It’s also my favorite since I just *LOVE* fall food – local, seasonal pumpkins and apples are always a treat to cook with.
Recently I heard a good friend opened an Online Coffee business, bringing Instant back to life (WAKACOFFEE, check it out!), so I ordered a box to give it a try. I think we all need the optional shortcut here and there, and hey, if it’s a friend, there’s even an added value of being supportive of a new venture!
When I got the package, being the Marketer that I am – I loved seeing the simple, clean branding and the fact they support clean-water charity initiatives. The coffee itself tasted like, well, a cup of coffee from my favorite coffee shop – robust, whole and a bit bitter, just the way I like it. I have to admit I don’t like the highly-acidic coffee that’s trending these days; I like the more rounded, well-balanced coffees of the world. So if you’re like me, you’ll love this brand!
I had no doubt that I was going to not only have it for breakfast – but get my creative hat on and develop a fall-worthy recipe to best showcase its robust flavor. I had friends coming over that day for dinner, so I decided to try a seasonal/healthyish spin on Tiramisu.
The result is a Tiramisu inspired dessert, where the layering is similar but the cream part is a bit different; I decided to skip the triple-cream treatment and introduce Yogurt and pumpkin to the Mascarpone mix to reduce the total fat but keep the smoothness and mouthfeel. and cut a little bit of sugar to give way to the pumpkin’s natural sweetness.
I got a pastel-like orange cream, with a great subtle pumpkin flavor which worked out really well with the coffee and Amareto liquor. I plated it as a casual scoop-it-out table dessert, but you can definitely plate it in jars or individual fancy ways. Here we go:
Seasonal Pumpkin Tiramisu
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
8 oz. Mascarpone cheese
3/4 cup full fat yogurt (I LOVE Trader Joe’s Greek yogurt, it’s really smooth and tangy)
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 package WAKACOFFEE melted in 1/2 cup hot water (or 1 cup strong espresso)
2 tablespoons Amaretto, Frangelico or coffee liquor
1 package lady fingers cookies
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder, for sprinkling
Instructions:
1. Mix yolks and sugar in a medium bowl and place over a pot of boiling water (bain marie), and whisk until mixture is thick and light yellow in color, about 8 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
2. Mix mascaepone, yogurt and pumpkin pure. Add in the mascarpone mixture and mix gently to combine. Do not over mix – the mascarpone may break (its high fat content makes it break easily).
3. Almost done! mix the coffee and liquor, briefly dip the lady fingers in it – careful not to dip for too long – and arrange a layer in a wide bowl. Spread the pumpkin-mascarpone cream over it, and sprinkle with cinnamon+cocoa mixture.
Enjoy!