Pumpkin-Gingerbread Trifle

Yield: 1 (10-inch/25.5 cm) trifle

Ingredients:

Gingerbread

• 2 cups (470 ml) flour
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml) ground cloves
• ¾ cup (180 ml) brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup (160 ml) mild-flavoured molasses
• 6 tablespoons (90 ml) unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup (180 ml) hot water

Pumpkin custard

• 2 cups (470 ml) heavy cream
• 1 cup (240 ml) sugar
• 4 tablespoons (60 ml) cornstarch
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 can (24-ounce/796 ml) pureed pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) dark rum

Whipped cream

• 2 cups (470 ml) chilled heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) sugar

Method:

Let’s get baking!

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).

To make gingerbread cake, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.

Stir in ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

Add brown sugar and mix.

Beat in egg and molasses.

Add butter and beat in.

Pour in hot water and continue beating.

Pour into a greased, 8-inch (20 cm) cake pan.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until cake springs back when touched.

For pumpkin custard, heat cream in a saucepan with sugar and cornstarch.

Whisk egg yolks in a separate bowl.

Slowly pour cream mixture into eggs, whisking continuously to avoid cooking the eggs.

Pour mixture back into the saucepan and put back on the heat.

Cook, stirring continuously, until thick.

Take off the heat.

Stir in pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, and rum.

Chill in the fridge until set.

For the whipped cream, beat cream and sugar in a cold bowl until peaks form.

To assemble, cut top off cake and slice bottom part in half horizontally.

Using a gingerbread man cookie cutter, cut 10 gingerbread men out of the 2 bottom parts of the cake, reserving all leftovers.

Using a piping bag, cover the bottom of the trifle dish with 2 inches (5 cm) of custard.

Top with a small layer of whipped cream.

Place top of cake over the whipped cream.

Line gingerbread men standing up all around the glass of the trifle dish.

Add a second layer of custard and whipped cream.

Once the trifle dish is full, sprinkle remaining gingerbread cake pieces over the top.

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