Thursday, November 3, 2011

It Takes Two to Trifle


This Sunday was our neighborhood Halloween party and I had planned FAR in advance to make something special. I was trying decide on what dessert to make and then it hit me. I would make a trifle; who doesn't love a dessert that incorporates cake, pudding, whip cream, and crushed cookies?! But I knew one trifle wouldn't be enough for all the people who come to the party so I figured two would be good. I knew I had to make something fall themed, I mean, it was a Halloween party for goodness sakes! I searched online and found a pretty good pumpkin bundt cake recipe. Then I planned to add vanilla pudding, cinnamon whipped cream, and crushed gingersnaps to create the beautiful Fall Harvest Trifle (trademark pending). Then I wanted something chocolate which, as you know, is not surprising at all. So I went with a rich dark chocolate brownie, white chocolate pudding, whipped cream, and crushed oreos which I named the Killer Chocolate Trifle (trademark also pending).



My mom helped a lot with the production of these two awesome desserts. I guess you could say she was my sous chef for the day. She chopped up nuts, warmed up fudge sauce, wrapped the desserts, grabbed things from high places (I'm pretty short, so tall people definitely come in handy, haha). I can't wait until I open up my own shop and my mom and I can bake together all the time!

Both of the trifles were a huge hit at the party. The adults seemed to stick to the pumpkin bonanza, while the kids dug into the brownie bowl. I also witnessed a young girl lick her finger then run said finger over the serving spoon. I quickly, and politely, took the spoon from her a fetched a new one. I guess that's one of the downfalls of a communal dessert so serve at your own risk! I got a great response and hopefully a few more customers to add to my list. Jackson, sadly only wanted cookies at the party, so he didn't try mommy's yummy desserts, but I'm sure he would have LOVED the chocolate trifle. They were both extremely easy to put together and would be perfect for a twist on Thanksgiving dessert. Hope you enjoy!

Fall Harvest Trifle

Pumpkin Bundt Cake (adapted from I am Baker)

2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Butter and flour a 12-cup bundt pan. Combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt together, set aside.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the pumpkin, sour cream, and vanilla and mix. Add the flour mixture slowly and mix until fully incorporated.

3. Spoon batter into bundt pan and bake for 60 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto cooling rack. Cool completely before cutting into cubes.

Pudding:
Jell-O instant vanilla pudding mix

1. Follow recipe on the box and chill thoroughly before assembly.

Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. In a cold bowl, beat the heavy cream until slightly thickened. Combine the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle that into the cream, while still beating. Beat until you reach the stiff peak stage. Refrigerate until assembly.

Needed for Assembly:
1 pumpkin bundt cake, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 batch instant pudding, chilled
1 batch whipped cream, chilled
caramel sauce
crushed ginger snaps
chopped pecans (optional)

1. Place half of your bundt cake cubes in an even layer at the bottom of your trifle dish. Spoon half the pudding over the cake and spread evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle a generous amount of crushed gingersnaps over the pudding Spread half of the whipped cream over the gingersnaps. Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the whipped cream and drizzle your caramel sauce over the pecans.

2. Repeat step one and chill until ready to serve.
Killer Chocolate Trifle

Brownie (from Nigella Lawson)

3 sticks plus 2 tablespoons butter
12 ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate
6 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons AP flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate  chips
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter and dark chocolate together in a large heavy based pan over a low heat. Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly.

2. In a bowl or large measuring jug, beat the eggs together with the superfine sugar and vanilla extract.
Add the egg and sugar mixture to the chocolate and beat well. Fold in the flour and salt. Then stir in the white chocolate buttons or chips, and the semisweet chocolate buttons or chips. Beat to combine then scrape and pour the brownie mixture into the prepared tin.

3. Bake for about 25-35 minutes. This is an extremely rich recipe and you would normally want to leave the brownies rather gooey, however, since you're going to be cutting them up for the trifle you'll want to cook them a little longer.

Pudding:
Jell-O instant white chocolate pudding mix

1. Follow the recipe on the box and chill thoroughly before assembly.

Whipped cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp sugar

1. In a cold bowl, beat the heavy cream until it gets a little thick. Sprinkle in the sugar, while still beating, and continue until you reach stiff peak stage. Refrigerate until you are ready to assemble.

Needed for Assembly:
1 batch of brownies, cut into 1/2" squares
1 batch of pudding, chilled
1 batch of whipped cream, chilled
hot fudge
crushed oreos

1. Take half of your brownies and place them in an even layer at the bottom of your trifle dish. Spoon half of your pudding onto the brownies and then spread evenly with a spatula. Spread half of your whipped cream over the pudding. Then sprinkle a generous amount of crushed Oreos over the whipped cream. Drizzle hot fudge sauce over the Oreos.

2. Repeat step one. Chill until ready to serve!

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