Pastry chefs dream up new riffs on pumpkin classicsPastry chefs dream up new riffs on pumpkin classics

To many diners’ delight, the pumpkin spice trend will continue to dominate dessert menus this fall. While classic desserts like pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin spice cake and pumpkin pie remain menu constants, some chefs are using different textures and techniques to prove that there’s more than a few ways to do pumpkin. 

“Pumpkin is the go-to fall ingredient, but I wanted to do something a little different,” said Roger Waysok, chef at South Water Kitchen in Chicago. “I tried to take it to a place that was a little unexpected, but still approachable.”

For his fall menu, Waysok will take the idea of classic pumpkin pie and present it in a fresh form with pumpkin flan, which includes pumpkin pie spiced pepitas and pumpkin-ale caramel. 

“We make caramel for the flan using pumpkin ale,” explained Waysok. “It adds a little more flavor to the caramel and also really evokes the flavors of fall. I think it gets people interested and excited about how those two flavors can blend into a delicious component of a classic dessert.”

Also in Chicago and also re-imagining pumpkin pie is Scott Green, pastry chef at Travelle Kitchen Bar, who plans to serve a pumpkin pot de crème with chai mousse and candied pumpkin seeds starting in mid-September. 

“When Fall comes around there are some flavors you just know you’re going to work with. Baking spice, pumpkin, apple, caramel, all of the big fall players,” Green said. “The pumpkin dessert is inspired, of course, by pumpkin pie, with the flavor profile just shifted into different textures and techniques.”

Pumpkin desserts have always appeared on the fall, winter and holiday menus at Oceana in New York City, but this year executive pastry chef Colleen Grapes is trying something new: a pumpkin crostata made with pistachio crumble, bourbon caramel, candied lemon and whipped mascarpone. Returning to the menu is Grapes’ nostalgic take on her mother’s pumpkin cheesecake, made with pecan and graham cracker crust, whipped cream, candied pepitas and rum caramel.

“In these two desserts there are a variety of taste profiles and textures,” said Grapes. “The idea is to recreate something that your mom made when you were a child, and to reintroduce the dessert as something that is a bit more innovative and interesting.”

A classic cruller gets a pumpkin spiced latte treatment at Plan Check Kitchen Bar’s three locations in Los Angeles. Photo: Plan Check Kitchen Bar.

This fall at Plan Check Kitchen Bar’s three Los Angeles locations, chef Sean Yontz will offer a pumpkin spice latte cruller, a fried-to-order circle of pâte à choux dough topped with spiced pumpkin (a blend of fresh roasted pumpkin, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger), whipped cream and pastry cream, garnished with ground espresso.

“The inspiration for the cruller was seasonal,” said Yontz. “The pumpkin spice latte cruller was created for the fall season, specifically for Halloween.”

Last year at Pazzo Ristorante in Portland, Ore., pastry chef Alisha Falkenstein had a pumpkin mousse on her menu that was a huge hit. This year, she’s considering riffing on that success with a pumpkin tiramisu trifle that would include layers similar to a tiramisu (lady fingers, mascarpone custard and espresso) with the addition of spiced pumpkin and crunchy toffee.