pumpkin caramel dark chocolate shooters

Ingredients

for the pumpkin caramel & whipped cream:
• 1, 13.66 oz Thai Kitchen full fat coconut milk (NOT lite)
• 1, 15 oz. can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 c. coconut sugar | sucanat or raw cane sugar would also work
• 1/3 c. potato starch (this is not the same as cornstarch)
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 TBS. vanilla
for the dark chocolate pudding:
• 1 13.66 oz. lite coconut milk (full fat also works)
• 1/4 c. European baking cocoa | or 1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 c. coconut sugar | sucanat or raw cane sugar works as well
• 3 TBS. potato starch | or 1 1/2 TBS. if using regular cocoa powder
optional garnish:
• dark chocolate bar to make chocolate shavings

Instructions

1. NOTE: It's important you use Thai Kitchen or some other high quality brand that includes guar gum. It doesn't matter much for the pudding or sauce, but for the whipped cream, you need coconut milk that separates the fat from the liquid & there's something about the guar gum that gives it a smooth consitency. Not all coconut milk brands are created equal. I use Thai Kitchen because it's taste & quality is superb. I've bought cheaper brands, but you get what you pay for.
2. You'll want to prep your coconut milk the night before by putting it upside down in the fridge. Since you're going to use half of the milk (the liquid part) for the caramel & the other half for the whipped cream (which needs to be cold), you'll need to refrigerate the milk (for at least 5-6 hours to chill).
3. Open the can & separate the liquid from the fat. It should be about half liquid, half fat. Reserve the fat portion & put in the fridge until you're ready to make the whipped cream.
4. At this point, place your a small (but tall) mixing bowl & the electric whisks in the freezer (they need to be in there about 10 minutes to get really cold). You'll use this to make the whipped cream in a bit.
5. Back to the caramel sauce. Heat a medium saucepan on medium. Combine liquid portion of coconut milk, sugar, pumpkin, spices, & potato starch in blender & blend until smooth (not very long). Place mixture in pan. Stirring occasionally with a wire whisk (you don't want it to burn), turn heat up to medium high until it starts to bubble a bit, then turn back down to medium. Sauce should thicken in 3-4 minutes. Again, be careful not to burn (DO NOT put on high). Once thickened, remove from heat so it can cool. Whisk in the vanilla & set aside. It will thicken even more once it cools.

for the dark chocolate pudding:
6. I used some awesome European baking cocoa I got from Costco. It seems to be about twice the concentration of regular unsweetened cocoa powder (1 TBS. for example, has 30 calories & 15% of your daily value of iron--regular has 10 calories & only 3% of your DV of iron). If you can't get your hands on this stuff, just double the amount & use regular, but you'll want to cut your potato starch in half (if you find your pudding isn't thickening as much as you'd like, you can always add a 1/2 TBS or so to help thicken).

7. You'll make the pudding essentially the same way you made the caramel.
8. Blend all pudding ingredients in blender. On medium-high heat whisk pudding, then turn down to medium when it starts to bubble. It should take less time than the caramel to thicken. Once it thickens (about pudding consitency), remove from heat & allow to cool.

for the coconut "whipped" cream:

9. {for a step-by-step tutorial, go here}
10. Get out your cold bowl & electric whisks (or whisk). I used an electric hand whisk & tall blending jar, which worked beautifully for the amount of cream I made.
11. Place cold coconut milk (the fat part you reserved from the caramel sauce) in the bowl/jar & using an electric wisk(s), blend on high for 4 minutes or so. It might not seem like it's getting "whipped" but just keep those whisks going--by 4 minutes or thereabouts, you just have fluffy & light whipped coconut cream. Put it in your fridge until you're ready to assemble. It will be good for a few hours, but you'll want to use it the day you make it.

to assemble:
12. I used 2.5 oz. square shot glasses (I bought mine at Wal-mart). You can use larger parfait glasses, but this is a rich dessert & perfect in mini form (also, so cute).
13. I layered mine starting with chocolate, then pumpkin, then chocolate topped with a large dollop of whipped cream.
14. Shave a bit of chocolate off a dark chocolate bar using a vegetable peeler & sprinkle over the top.
15. These can be made a couple of hours (6 or less) in advance of a party--just store in the fridge. Or you can make the caramel & chocolate pudding the day before & whipped cream day of to save time & keep the whipped cream fresh, & "whipped."

This recipe is property of Janae Wise & is protected under copyright. Do not copy or use on a personal or professional blog, website, book, or ebook. If you\'d like to share with others, please link to the recipe on my site. Thank you!