W
Warning: If you are on a diet or trying to avoid sweet, delicious goodness, you may want to skip right past today’s recipe post.
I made this Pumpkin Mousse Trifle for a potluck last week and it was quite tasty. Actually, it was more than quite tasty. It was downright want-to-lick-the-plate good.
And here is the best part – it was super fast and easy.
Anyone looking for a quick and simple no-bake recipe for Thanksgiving, try this. You’ll be glad you did!
Cast of Tasty Characters
You can use any kind of dense cake – pound cake works especially well. You could also use angel food cake or bundt cake. Regular cake tends to get a little crumbly. I ran out of time to bake gingerbread and resorted to a pound cake from the bakery.
Cut the cake into little bite-sized cubes. Try not to snitch too many. At this point I got in a bit of a hurry to get this finished and forgot to snap photos of mixing up the mousse. Mix the pudding mix with milk then add the cream cheese. If you have a 3-ounce package of cream cheese, it will work fine, otherwise cut an 8-ounce package in half. Mix it with the pudding then add pumpkin filling and spices. Blend well then let rest for about 5 minutes.
Whip up some whipped cream. I like to add about 1/4 cup of powdered sugar to sweeten it up a bit.
Start layering the trifle by adding in 1/3 of the cake cubes.
Layer in 1/3 of the mousse mixture. Top with a drizzle of the caramel and then whipped cream. Continue making layers of cake, mousse, caramel and whipped cream.
Finish with a layer of toffee sprinkles, if you so desire. My taste buds greatly desired. You could also do another drizzle of caramel. Or a spinkle of cinnamon. Go wild and crazy if you wish.
Pumpkin Trifle Mousse
1 box of gingerbread mix, baked (or 2 cups of cake cubes)
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 small box instant cheesecake pudding
2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin pie filling
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup caramel sauce
2 cups whipped cream
Toffee bits for topping (optional)
If you are making your own gingerbread, bake and let cool. You need about 2 cups of cake cubes. I planned to use gingerbread, but I ran out of time to make it, so I grabbed a pound cake that looked quite yummy. It was.
Mix pudding with two cups of milk. Add in softened cream cheese and blend. Then mix in pumpkin and spices. Blend well then set aside for about five minutes. Whip up whipped cream, set aside.
Cut cake into cubes and start layer in a trifle bowl, large glass bowl or individual glasses.You are going to do three layers, so use everything in thirds (guesstimates work just fine).
Top cake with mousse then drizzle with caramel sauce. Spoon on a layer of whipped cream then start again with a layer of cake.
Finish with a layer of whipped cream. You can top with toffee bits and cinnamon or another drizzle of caramel and cake crumbs. Whatever strikes your fancy.
Have fun with it and enjoy!
