Panna Cotta is Italian for "cooked cream." Traditionally, it is a light custard. Here it's flavored with pumpkin and apricot brandy and served as a dessert soup for adults.

Purée the pumpkin, cream, milk, and sugar in a blender. Stir in the brandy.

Refrigerate in a covered container until chilled, about 3 hours, before serving. (The mixture will thicken.)

Serve garnished with swirls of crème fraîche (thinned with milk) and crumbled gingersnap cookies.

Advance preparation

This soup will keep for up to 2 days in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Paulette Mitchell, a culinary instructor, television personality, spokesperson, freelance food writer, and the award-winning author of 13 cookbooks, is known internationally for her quick-to-prepare recipes with gourmet flair. Paulette's most recently published cookbook is "The Complete 15-Minute Gourmet: Creative Cuisine Made Fast and Fresh." She is also the author of "A Beautiful Bowl of Soup" and "The Spirited Vegetarian," which was voted "Best Book in the World on Cooking with Wine" at the 2005 Gourmand World Media Awards. Paulette says that international travel is her favorite source of culinary inspiration.