Pumpkin Maple Trifle
Every year my family tries to come up with something new and exciting for Thanksgiving. I mean, how many times can you have the same pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce? Okay, I know there are traditions and family recipes that are used year in and year out. But we don’t do that in my family. As a matter of fact, the only recipe that we use each and every year is Alton Brown’s turkey brining recipe. It’s soooo good. But other than that, every dish changes from year to year.
One year we’ll do potatoes. The next we do yams. Sometimes we do the classic green bean casserole, other times we do carrots or Brussels sprouts. While we’ll often repeat recipes, the one dish that’s never the same is dessert. One year I made a Pumpkin Flan. The next there was a Chocolate Rum Torte with a meringue crust. And another time we made an apple pie. We love dessert in my family and so it’s always great when you can have two or three options on the table because that way you can have a bite of everything from pumpkin to chocolate.
Since so many people (including Hubs) love pumpkin, there’s always some sort of pumpkin dessert. While pumpkin pie is the classic choice for Thanksgiving, it doesn’t have to be. There are plenty of other options: pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin mousse or even a pumpkin trifle. Yes, that right, a pumpkin trifle. Now, I know when most people think of trifle they think of pound cake, custard and fruit all layered together. But just because that’s the classic trifle, doesn’t mean it’s the only way to build it. All a trifle really is, is a dessert that’s cake layered with custard and whipped cream. After that, you can do anything you like. If you want to add fruit, go for it. Cookies or nuts, toss them on in. As long as there are layers, you can do whatever you want.
So, since my mom and I love coming up with new and exciting twists on classic desserts and we love scrolling the internet, we took the trifle and gave it an autumn spin. Instead of a lemon pound cake we used pumpkin bread. Instead of lemon curd we went with a maple pudding. The only thing we didn’t change was the whipped cream, because let’s be honest, everything is better with a dollop of whipped cream. What resulted was a wonderful dessert that complimented our holiday feast without that infamous pumpkin spice bowling us over. It was so good, and a nice change of pace from the classic pumpkin pie or cheesecake. I mean, anything that includes pudding and cake gets a big thumbs up from me. How about you?
Notes
Adapted from San Francisco A La Carte and Food 52
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bread
- 1-2/3 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup mashed pumpkin
Maple Pudding
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 cups half & half
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 pint whipped cream
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
Instructions
Make the Pumpkin Bread
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans and set aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Beat the sugar and eggs together until light and creamy. Add the oil, water and pumpkin and beat for another minute.
- Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the 2 loaf pans and bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick, when inserted, comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely. (This can be made a day ahead.)
Make the Maple Pudding
- Whisk together the syrup, half & half, egg yolks, brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan over low heat until combined. Continue whisking for about 20 minutes until the custard is thick and coats the back of a spoon.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla and butter until the butter is melted.
- Transfer to a bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding (to keep a skin from forming). Let cool.
Assemble the Trifle
- Pour the whipped cream into a mixer and beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Slice the cooled pumpkin bread into 1 inch cubes. Cover the bottom of your glass trifle dish with a layer of pumpkin bread cubes.
- Spoon a layer of maple pudding over the pumpkin bread. Then spoon a layer of whipped cream on top of the pudding. Repeat the layers until you fill the bowl. Once you reach the top layer. Line the pumpkin cubes around the edge of the dish. Then fill the center with whipped cream and sprinkle the top with the orange zest. Spoon into bowls and serve!
