White Chocolate Covered Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse Skulls with Maple Caramel Sauce and Black Cocoa Tuiles

3.75 from 4 votes

White Chocolate Covered Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse Skulls with Maple Caramel Sauce and Black Cocoa Tuiles

This Halloween dessert features a white chocolate skull full of a richly spiced pumpkin mousse. You will need a skull mold to form these. The warm spices pair well with a maple flavored caramel and some black cocoa cookie tuiles. I’ve used tree shape tuile molds to lend a spooky forest effect. This would be equally good with some crumbled black cocoa cake.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword american, black cocoa, caramel, cheesecake, dairy-free, dessert, halloween, maple, mousse, nightshade-free, pumpkin, tuile, white chocolate

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 15

Total Time 8

Servings

Calories 444kcal

Author Jenny Ross

Ingredients

Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse

1 pound cream cheese 2 blocks, room temperature, or Kite Hill cream cheese, if dairy-free
1/3 cup butter room temperature, or butter flavored coconut oil if dairy-free
7.5 ounces pumpkin purée 1/2 small can
1 teaspoon stevia glycerite or 1/4 cup monk fruit, powdered
2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon gelatin bloomed in 1 tablespoon cold water for 10 minutes
white chocolate spray or sugar-free white chocolate and cocoa butter for dipping, see note

Black Cocoa Tuile

10 g butter or oil
10 g egg white
6 g defatted almond flour
3 g black cocoa 1 teaspoon
5 g monk fruit powdered
pinch salt

Maple Caramel Sauce

1 cup heavy cream or coconut cream or cashew cream for dairy-free
1/4 cup butter omit for dairy-free
2/3 cup allulose
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon maple extract
red food coloring natural, to taste

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

For the Pumpkin Mousse Cheesecake

Whip the cream cheese and butter until well combined and airy, about 5 minutes. Add in remaining cheesecake ingredients except gelatin and mix well.
Melt the gelatin in the microwave, about 15 seconds (you don’t want to cook it too long or it loses its setting properties). Fold the melted gelatin into the cheesecake mixture and then pipe into skull molds. Freeze until set, at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.

For the Tuiles

Whisk together all tulle ingredients until smooth. Use a spoon to transfer to a tuile mold and spread with a knife, bench scraper, or offset spatula, making sure excess batter is wiped away. Bake for 6 min at 350ºF and then carefully remove the tuiles from the mold.

For the Caramel

Combine all ingredients except for anise extract in a small pot over low heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes, without stirring. Season to taste with more salt. Stir in the extract and color, if using. Pour into a glass jar and store in the refrigerator. It will thicken more as it cools.

To Serve

Coat the skulls in white chocolate - if using spray cocoa butter, coat according to the directions on the product. If you prefer to dip them in magic shell, see notes. Be sure to let the coated skulls thaw before serving.
Place a chocolate coated skull into the center of each serving plate. Spoon caramel around and place tuiles around and leaning onto the skull.

Notes

If you want to coat the skulls in a white chocolate magic shell, melt together 7 ounces sugar-free white chocolate chips (200g) and 70g cocoa butter (either slowly over a double boiler or in the microwave at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds or so until liquid.

Once the skulls are frozen, unmold and stick a toothpick into the top of the skull. Using the toothpick to hold it into the chocolate mixture. You can dip once for a thin shell, or twice for a thicker shell. Transfer to a piece of parchment paper once dipped to chocolate let set and the mousse thaw.

Nutrition does not include white chocolate coating as this will vary depending on method you use and how thick you make the coating.

Protein:Energy Quotient [calories]: 0.08, Protein % of calories: 5.3%

Nutrition