This pumpkin mousse is a light and fluffy Halloween dessert topped with a ghostly Halloween bark that's spooky sweet!
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I don't watch a lot of cooking shows, but I do love watching holiday themed cooking competitions. I've been hooked on Halloween Wars. You know, where they make crazy edible creations out of carved pumpkins, candy, and baked goods?
While watching one of those competitions one night with my husband, I got super inspired! I blurted out, "You know what would be cool? If you made a chocolate coffin and filled it with a pumpkin mousse!" The next day, I was on the hunt for a silicone coffin mold!
Unfortunately, my original idea didn't work out as planned. The candy was a little too soft in texture and when I tried to unmold it, it would break apart. So it was onto plan B!
Pumpkin Mousse with Halloween Bark
Since I had two bags of black candy melts and some extra chocolate morsels to use up, I decided to make a Halloween bark instead. The new plan was to make a delicious pumpkin mousse, serve it in a ceramic cauldron, and top it with pieces of the broken Halloween bark. This idea came together much easier and still looked spooky cute!
The first thing I did was make the chocolate bark. Over low heat, I added both bags of my black candy melts to a small pot and stirred continuously until melted and smooth.
Then, I poured the melted chocolate onto a baking sheet that I prepared with parchment paper. I used a cake scraper to smooth the candy melts into an even layer.
In another small pot, I added white chocolate chips and melted them over low heat until they were nice and smooth.
Then, I spooned some white chocolate onto the black candy melts. With a toothpick, I dragged the white chocolate into ghost-like shapes and added eyeball sprinkles and black sprinkles for a mouth.
I finished the Halloween bark off with an assortment of Halloween sprinkles before letting it set for about an hour.
While the Halloween bark set, I started working on my pumpkin mousse. I added vanilla pudding, pumpkin spice, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, milk, a pinch of salt, and Cool Whip to a mixing bowl. Once that was all mixed up, I let the mousse set for 20-30 minutes in the fridge.
When the Halloween bark and pumpkin mousse was ready, I spooned the mousse into a ceramic cauldron and broke up some of the bark to serve on top. Serve the rest of the Halloween bark with the pumpkin mousse to top individual portions.
Pumpkin Mousse with Halloween Bark
Ingredients
For the Halloween bark:
- 2 - 10 oz. black candy melts
- 1/2 - 12 oz. bag white chocolate morsels
- Halloween sprinkles
For the pumpkin mousse:
- 1 - 3.4 oz. package instant vanilla pudding
- 1 tsp. pumpkin spice
- 15 oz. pumpkin puree
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup Cool Whip topping
Instructions
For the Halloween bark:
- Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the black candy melts to a small pot and heat over low.
- Stir the candy melts until smooth. Then, pour the melted candy onto the baking sheet. Use a cake scraper to smooth the candy melts evenly onto the baking sheet.
- In another small pot, add the white chocolate chips and heat over low.
- Stir the chocolate until it's melted.
- Then, drop onto the candy melts and use a toothpick to make ghost-like shapes.
- Add eyeball sprinkles to make a face and sprinkle assorted Halloween sprinkles onto the rest of the Halloween bark.
- Allow the bark to harden for 60 minutes. Then, break apart to use on top of the pumpkin mousse.
For the pumpkin mousse:
- Add the pudding mix, pumpkin spice, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, milk, and salt to a mixing bowl. Mix until incorporated.
- Fold in the Cool Whip topping and chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
- When ready to serve, add pumpkin mousse to a bowl and top with Halloween bark. Serve with extra bark to top individual portions.
A Spooky Sweet Halloween Dessert!
The pumpkin mousse is light and fluffy with just the right amount of pumpkin spice flavor. It's actually a little fluffier than traditional mousse, but it's still so, so good! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
When I put the plate of Halloween bark in front of my husband, he said it looked like "a science experiment gone wrong." A perfect description for Halloween, if you ask me! Store leftover chocolate bark in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
Did you make this Pumpkin Mousse with Halloween Bark recipe? Share it on social media using the hashtag #holokahome. Don’t forget to tag me @holokahome!
