A mug of pumpkin spice steamer with cinnamon on the foam, a jar of pumpkin puree and a small pumpkin

Pumpkin spice steamer with real pumpkin and low-fat milk

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Phase & care: P1 for the low-fat milk, pumpkin, cinnamon and maple syrup. Nutmeg and cloves aren’t on my personal yes/no list, so they’re optional and phase 2. The coffee is optional too, and coffee tolerance is personal.

This is the café drink with the parts I can’t have taken out. It uses real pumpkin, so it tastes of something besides syrup.

Make it once at home and you’ll know what the seasonal latte is supposed to taste like.

Makes 2 mugs. About 2 g fat and 110 kcal a mug.

Ingredients

  • 400 ml (about 1 2/3 cups) low-fat milk, 1 percent if you can find it
  • 4 tablespoons (about 60 g / 1/4 cup) plain pumpkin purée, tinned or homemade
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup or brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • A pinch of ground nutmeg (optional, phase 2)
  • A tiny pinch of ground cloves (optional, phase 2)
  • 1 shot of espresso, or 60 ml (1/4 cup) strong coffee (optional)

Method

  1. In a small pan, whisk the pumpkin, spices and sweetener with a splash of the milk until it’s a smooth paste.
  2. Add the rest of the milk. Heat gently until it steams and small bubbles appear at the edge. Don’t let it boil.
  3. Whisk hard for 30 seconds, or use a stick blender for 10 seconds, to get some foam.
  4. If you like it silky, pour it through a small sieve. Otherwise the pumpkin leaves a little body, which I like.
  5. If you’re using coffee, put it in the mug first, then pour the steamer over. Dust with cinnamon.

Notes

Buy plain pumpkin purée. “Pumpkin pie filling” is a different product, already sweetened and spiced.

Most versions online add vanilla extract. Under US rules vanilla extract has to be at least 35 percent alcohol, so it stays out of my kitchen. A scraped vanilla pod or a pinch of vanilla sugar does the same job.

Freeze the rest of the tin in tablespoon portions in an ice cube tray, or save it for the pumpkin muffins coming later this month.

Stepan’s Rule: make the seasonal drink at home once. After that you know what it should taste like, and you can taste exactly what the café is adding.

Not medical advice. I’m a patient sharing what works in my own kitchen.

The community has its own drinks shelf, ginger lemonade included. That recipe stays in there. Come and find it.

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