Cranberry-Pomegranate Mousse Pie

Pies are somewhat new territory for me; I’ve only made about three different types, so I am looking forward to learning more from Dessert Person about this baking arena. The first one I started off with is Claire’s Cranberry-Pomegranate Mousse Pie.

This recipe started with a bang before I even began baking. I searched two grocery stores for pomegranate molasses with no luck. I could’ve bought it online, but truthfully, I was too impatient. Instead I settled for pomegranate juice; however, I couldn’t find one that was unsweetened like Claire recommended. In order to avoid making the cranberry compote too sweet, I only added half a cup of sugar to even out the pomegranate juice.

Speaking of the cranberry compote…I also could not find fresh or frozen cranberries, leaving whole berry cranberry sauce as my best option. Sliding that stuff out of a can is rather entertaining to say the least. I placed it over a strainer and picked through the sauce with a fork for the whole cranberries. I got enough with about three cans, and I’ll use the leftover sauce for something else. With this substitute and the pomegranate juice, it took around 15 minutes to get my compote to the jam consistency needed.

Once that step was completed, I had to strain the compote all over again! I quickly realized pie baking involves a lot of running around the kitchen… breaking down fruit at the stove, mixing other ingredients with a mixer, placing completed elements in the refrigerator… I got a workout! I’m seeing how pies, cakes, and cookies all differentiate from each other in terms of their baking processes; I’m expecting cookies to be the frontrunner as my favorite.

About a step before I was supposed to put the cranberry mousse in the crust, I realized I had yet to make the crust! I had been wondering why Claire had not mentioned anything about the crust, but I decided to go with a graham cracker version. I did not find anything about how to make this when I glanced over the back of the book, so I made a quick version that includes graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter and cinnamon. And then sure enough, I once again realized it wasn’t Claire, it was me. I completely missed the “graham cracker crust” ingredient, a separate recipe on page 327! Therefore, I’m sad to report my crust for this one was not a Dessert Person version; since this is my first recipe out of the pie section I have a feeling I’ll get another opportunity to try out Claire’s graham cracker crust later on.

Claire had recommended skipping the sugared cranberries step if you didn’t have fresh cranberries; looking back I probably should have listened. I just like my desserts to look pretty! I didn’t have any cranberries left, but I had frozen cherries. Since it was simply for décor, I used my pomegranate juice, sugar and water to make the simple syrup with cherries. Like the recipe said for cranberries, I let the cherries sit for an hour before dipping them in sugar. This process went perfectly fine, but once I dropped them on the whipped cream (which I also think I needed to whip a little longer), they kind of sunk into the dessert topping. It all tasted the same, just wasn’t as pretty as I hoped.

Despite the presentation, this pie is freaking gooooood! Claire mentioned baking this for Thanksgiving dessert instead of traditional recipes, and I completely agree. It’s light, fruitful and creamy; perfect after a big meal for any occasion. While I’m bummed I couldn’t use all the intended ingredients, I am very happy with how it turned out. I will likely bring this one back when fresh cranberries are easier to find so I can try it again—hopefully by then I’ll have ordered pomegranate molasses!

I have a feeling Claire will eventually share this recipe on her YouTube channel; it sounded like it is one of her favorites. I will post when she does!