Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Ice Box Cake
This stunning pumpkin icebox cake has all the classic flavors of pumpkin spice plus milk chocolate for sweetness. The torched meringue balances with the fall flavors to create simple but gorgeous showstopper for Thanksgiving or an autumn party.
Servings: 12 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups (473ml) heavy whipping cream
- 8 oz (226g) milk chocolate chopped
- 1 cup (226g) pumpkin puree
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/8 tsp baking salt
- About 60 Chocolate Wafer Cookies or 25 whole Graham Crackers
Brown Sugar Balsamic Swiss Meringue
- 1 cup (244g) egg whites
- 2 cups (400g) brown sugar or you can use white granulated sugar
- 2 tsps balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- Pinch baking salt
Instructions
Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Whipped Ganache
- In a medium saucepan, heat 1/2 the cream until simmering. Turn off the heat, add the chocolate and swirl the pan to cover the chocolate with the cream. Let sit for 3 minutes and then gently whisk until smooth. Pour into a large bowl and whisk in the remaining cream.
- Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about 3 hours or overnight. Pro Tip: Do not rush this or the ganache will not whip into peaks.
- Once the milk chocolate ganache is thoroughly chilled, whip the ganache with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium-low speed until medium peaks form, about 1 minute. Pro Tip: Don’t overwhip or it will get grainy when folding the ganache with the pumpkin.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, vanilla, and salt. Add 1/3 of the whipped ganache and stir with a rubber spatula until mostly combined. Fold in another 1/3 of the whipped ganache until nearly combined. Gently fold in the remaining whipped ganache until no streaks remain.
Assembly
- To assemble, line an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap or parchment paper that goes up and over the sides to create a sling. Set aside.
- Coat the bottom of the prepared pan with about a 1/4-inch-thick layer of the cream. Top the layer of cream with the cookies. Spread another 1/4-inch layer of cream and then top with more cookies. Repeat until you have used all of the cream and filled the pan. There may be cookies or cream leftover, depending on the shape of pan and how large the cookies are.
- Finish with a layer of cookies over the cream horizontally. Add two more layers of cream and cookies, ending with a layer of cream. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the cake for at least 6 hours, but ideally overnight.
- Once the Ice Box cake is ready to decorate, prepare the Brown Sugar Balsamic Swiss Meringue below.
- Cover the icebox cake in a ¼-inch thick layer of the meringue. Smooth the meringue using a metal spatula. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.
- Place the remaining meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a large Star Tip (Ateco #825). Pipe swirly designs over the smooth meringue.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour (can be finished to this point the day before). Pro Tip: Do not cover it or you’ll ruin the design.
- Just before serving use a blow torch to toast the meringue.
- Use a thin, sharp knife, dipped in hot water to slice. Dip in the hot water between each slice.
Brown Sugar Balsamic Swiss Meringue
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the sugar and egg whites and stir with a rubber spatula to thoroughly mix. The mixture will be very thick and grainy from the sugar.
- Put 1 inch / 2.5cm of water in the bottom of a double boiler or a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Place the bowl with the sugar mixture over the simmering water and stir the mixture with a rubber spatula until the sugar is completely melted. Pro Tips: Brush down the sides of the bowl with the spatula to make sure all the sugar is melted. Feel the mixture between your fingers to check for graininess. Once all the sugar has melted and the mixture is smooth, the syrup is hot enough (140°F / 60°C) to be safe to consume.
- Return the bowl to the stand mixer fitted with a clean whisk attachment and beat on medium-high speed until the egg foam is light, fluffy, and glossy, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Once the egg foam is whipped, fully and cooled, turn the mixer speed to medium-low, add the balsamic vinegar and pumpkin spice.
- Immediately use to cover the ice box cake.