Pumpkin Cheesecake Parfaits

Individual parfaits with a pumpkin and cream cheese filling layered over graham cracker crumbs and finished with whipped cream. The texture alternates between smooth filling and crunchy crumbs, with warm spice and vanilla throughout.

By Julienne

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 180 g graham cracker crumbs fine crumbs
• 45 g unsalted butter melted
• 452 g cream cheese softened
• 425 g pumpkin puree plain, unsweetened
• 100 g powdered sugar sifted
• 50 g light brown sugar packed
• 10 ml vanilla extract
• 4 g pumpkin pie spice
• 1 g fine salt
• 360 ml heavy cream cold
• 15 g granulated sugar
• 1 g ground cinnamon for garnish

Instructions

1. Stir the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter until evenly moistened. Divide the mixture among the 8 glasses, using about 1 heaped tablespoon per glass, and press lightly into the bottom. The crumbs look evenly damp and form a loose base in each glass.
2. In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree, powdered sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and fine salt. Beat until fully combined and creamy, scraping the bowl as needed. The filling is smooth, thick, and evenly orange with no visible streaks of cream cheese.
3. In a separate bowl, whip the cold heavy cream with the granulated sugar until medium peaks form. The cream should hold soft ridges and look billowy, not grainy. The whipped cream keeps shape when the beaters are lifted but still looks smooth.
4. Fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin-cheesecake mixture in 2 additions until no white streaks remain. Spoon or pipe the filling over the crumb bases, dividing it evenly among the 8 glasses. Each glass has a neat layer of filling above the crumbs and the mixture looks light but stable.
5. Chill the parfaits for at least 20 minutes before serving, or up to 4 hours if making ahead. Right before serving, dust lightly with the optional cinnamon. The filling is set enough to hold layers when the glass is tilted slightly.