Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Roasted Butternut Squash Mousse

Desserts

I’ve always loved the Olympics (just hearing the theme song makes me smile!) and have been glued to the couch the past week enjoying the games every night. Since I usually don’t watch nearly this much TV, I’ve been keeping my restlessness at bay by multitasking and brushing up on my vector art skills while designing a new header for my blog! The change was inspired by my recent WordPress crash and Apolinaras’ comment that the fonts in my header look like they’re stuck in the early web development age of the 90s – LOL, thanks honey! I agree though, it’s time for a makeover! I’m having fun with it, although I’m tired of watching Adobe Illustrator tutorials every time I can’t figure something out (which is often…). I’m starting over from scratch, so stay tuned for the big reveal later this week!

The downside to all the Olympic festivities is that I haven’t been cooking anything exciting for the past week. Luckily, I have a few recipes saved just for occasions like this that I can still share! Today’s treat is one I made right before Christmas but thought would be more appropriate to share after the holidays when people would be more interested in lighter dessert options. I decided to make a creamy faux mousse (no eggs are involved) of roasted butternut squash and apple cider. It’s rich, creamy, and indulgent. I served it in martini glasses topped with toasted walnuts and gingersnap cookies, but it would also be lovely as part of a layered trifle.

Oh, and I’m submitting this to Natasha’s 5 Star Mousse Makeover!

Roasted Butternut Squash Mousse
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
1/2 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup apple cider
1 8-ounce container light whipped topping, thawed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup toasted chopped walnuts
6 gingersnap cookies

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400˚F. Use a pastry brush to evenly brush flesh side of the squash halves with melted butter and place flesh side down on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400˚F for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender. Let squash cool for 10 minutes. Remove flesh from the squash halves with a spoon and mash with a fork until smooth (my yield was 2 cups).

Place mashed butternut squash, powdered sugar, and apple cider in a pan over medium heat and heat for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool completely and puree in a blender until smooth.

Mix squash puree, 2 cups of whipped topping, and vanilla extract until smooth. Place into serving bowls and sprinkle evenly with nuts and remaining whipped topping. Garnish with gingersnap cookies. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 220 calories, 9.8g fat, 2.5g fiber, 2.8g protein per serving
Cost: $0.93 per serving

Coconut & Lime Cheesecake Dessert Sushi

I’ve been wanting to develop another dessert sushi recipe for awhile now since I know it’s something people are very interested in (my Fruit-Filled Coconut & Chocolate Dessert Sushi recipe gets more google hits than any other recipe by far on my blog). I finally...

Video: Sugar Cookie Dough Decorations

Who else looooves the Olympics?! I’ve been doing my best to avoid the web and twitter during the day so I don’t accidently read any spoilers before the broadcasts at night. I just love tuning in and watching all the events, and I want to cheer along and be surprised...

Pumpkin Puff Pastry Tarts

The countdown to our flight to Arizona has begun and we’re playing our favorite game of trying to finish up all the perishables in our fridge before we go. We got a little off track when Apolinaras brought a half gallon of milk home on Sunday and thawed six pork...

Chocolate Raspberry Torte

I think Boston is a bit of a cold city. It’s not something I notice anymore on a daily basis, but when I’m visiting more friendly regions, I’m often struck by the joggers who nod and give you a smile as you run past and the eager store employees who go out of their...

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Truffles

You didn’t think I could resist dreaming up a treat for Valentine’s Day did you? I’ve always enjoyed the holiday and have fond memories of pouring through all the cartoon cards in my heart decorated box in grade school and placing small boxes of chocolate outside the...

Nutella Brownie Cups

So, I had this idea to make some Nutella mousse - slightly sweetened whipped cream mixed with a generous amount of chocolate hazelnut goodness. My original plan was to top some cute little brownie cups with it, but umm, by the time the brownies were cooled, there was...

Spiced Apple Cupcakes

I figured it’s about time that I actually post a cake recipe - you know, since my blog is called Cake, Batter, and Bowl and all... I couldn’t resist the cute word play on Shake, Rattle, and Roll when I was brainstorming names with my Dad over Christmas last year, but...

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

It’s been a couple months since we’ve had a lab birthday to celebrate, but I finally got the chance to whip up some cupcakes for our lab manager’s big day this week! I’m usually up pretty late when I undertake a baking project in the middle of the week, but this time...