Halloween Pumpkin Caramel Jars with Cinnamon Meringue

Autumnal jars layered with pumpkin compote, mascarpone cream, cinnamon crumble and caramel, topped with a crispy meringue hood. A Halloween dessert that impresses on the table with pumpkin, orange and caramel.

By yumbelo · 8 servings · 180 minutes

Ingredients

• 500 g Hokkaido pumpkin
• 150 ml orange juice
• 60 g sugar for the compote
• 1 pc cinnamon stick
• 150 g sugar for the caramel
• 150 ml cream for the caramel
• 30 g butter for the caramel
• 1 pinch salt
• 500 g mascarpone
• 300 ml whipping cream
• 80 g powdered sugar
• 1 pack vanilla sugar
• 150 g flour
• 80 g butter for the crumble
• 80 g brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 40 g pumpkin seeds
• 3 pc egg whites
• 120 g sugar for the meringue

Method

1. Remove the seeds from the pumpkin, peel it and cut it into cubes of about 1 cm. Simmer with the orange juice, 60 g sugar and the cinnamon stick in a pot over low heat for about 15 minutes until soft. Remove the cinnamon stick, purée the mixture finely and let it cool completely.
2. For the caramel, melt the sugar in the pot over medium heat without stirring until it is golden brown. Remove the pot from the heat and carefully stir in the cream, as it will splatter. Stir in the butter and the pinch of salt until smooth, then let the caramel cool.
3. Preheat the oven to 170 °C top and bottom heat. Rub together the flour, butter in pieces, brown sugar and cinnamon into crumbs, coarsely chop the pumpkin seeds and fold them in. Bake the crumbs on a baking sheet lined with baking paper for about 15 minutes until golden brown and let them cool.
4. Whip the whipping cream with vanilla sugar and powdered sugar until stiff. Stir the mascarpone smooth and carefully fold in the cream.
5. Lower the oven to 120 °C. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, gradually sprinkle in the sugar until the mixture is glossy and firm. Pipe small dollops onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper and dry them in the oven for about 60 minutes, then let them cool in the switched-off oven. Break the meringue into coarse pieces.
6. For each of the 8 jars, layer some pumpkin compote, mascarpone cream and crumbs one after another. Drizzle the caramel over the top. Chill the jars for at least 2 hours.
7. Shortly before serving, distribute the meringue pieces over the jars so they stay crisp.