Simple Yet Elegant Pumpkin Pie Trifle

• December 13, 2014
• Mari Bickmore
• no comments

I’m still on a cinnamon kick!  Trying to remain festive, whilst being without children at home!, so I wanted to make something to put me in the holiday mood.  A dessert that had pumpkin pie flavor but was a more elegant presentation, as I never think a pumpkin pie is very pretty.  This is what I came up with. It’s really simple and looks pretty good in small trifle dish.  Something you can serve to guests that tastes really good and looks good too.   I’m not very good with New Year’s Resolutions, but I hope that I will start working out in January to help me get past this baking kick that I’m on.  Maybe all my new recipes next year will be lite and healthy.  I’m not putting money on that, as I kind of have a love affair with cream and butter.  But who knows…stranger things have happened!

PUMPKIN PIE TRIFLE

You will need pumpkin pie mousse (below), whipped cream (recipe below), a box of gingersnaps (or homemade if you like – I used Nabisco Gingersnaps), and crushed Heath bars or bag of Heath English Toffee Bits.

Mousse

1 envelope unflavored gelatin powder

1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin (not pie filling)

1 cup Bakers sugar (or granulated sugar)

1½ cups well-chilled heavy cream

1-1/2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1.  Pour ¼ cup cold water in a small heat-proof bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it and let sit for 10 minutes for the gelatin to soften.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin and sugar.

3.  Put the bowl of softened gelatin over a pan of simmering water and cook until the gelatin is clear. (If you have a double boiler you can use that).

4.  When the gelatin is clear, immediately whisk the hot gelatin into the pumpkin mixture.

5.  Using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form.

6.  Fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin/gelatin mixture and chill for about 3 hours or overnight.

Whipped cream

When you prepare your whipped cream like this it is stabilized, meaning it will last without melting for quite a while!

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

4 teaspoons cold water

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar

Instructions:

1.  In a small pan, combine gelatin and cold water; let stand until thick.

2.  Place over low heat, stirring constantly, just until the gelatin dissolves.

3.  Remove from heat; cool (do not allow it to set).

4.  Whip the cream with the confectioner’s sugar, until slightly thick and while slowly beating, add the gelatin to whipping cream.

5.  Whip at high speed until stiff.

Makes about 2 cups of whipped cream.

Gingersnaps:  Break several cookies into small, bite-sized pieces.

Heath bars:  Either crush three heath bars or use a bag of Heath English Toffee Bits which are already crushed.

Now all you do is layer the pumpkin, cookies, toffee bits, whipped cream, pumpkin, and top with whipped cream and toffee bits.

My first prototype for this recipe I used spice bread that I had put pineapple in (below).  I diced the bread and used it in place of the cookies and put cinnamon ice cream with spiced pecans on top.  It wasn’t quite the pumpkin pie theme I was going for, but it was very good.  I think cinnamon ice cream would work very well on top of the above recipe as well!