Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

I've been wanting to make a pumpkin gingerbread trifle for a while now but haven't done it yet. Last week a friend wrote me on Facebook asking if I had a good recipe for a pumpkin trifle. I gave her the basics of what I had in mind (didn't have a recipe yet) and then she got to work on hers. She made a slightly different version and posted pictures and that sealed the deal for me. Less than an hour after she posted her pictures I had my gingerbread baking in the oven! :)

I knew I wanted 3 basic components in my trifle: gingerbread, pumpkin mousse, and some sort of cream cheese layer. I ended up keeping the cream cheese simple (cream cheese and powdered sugar thinned out with a little cream) and I love how it balanced out the gingerbread and pumpkin.

I enjoyed this trifle very much and am pleased with how it turned out. I can't wait to make it again!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

Gingerbread:

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water

Cream Cheese Mixture:

4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Milk or cream for thinning

Pumpkin Mousse:

1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
1/4 cup plus 2 TBSP sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the gingerbread:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8 inch square pan.

In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg, and mix in the molasses.

In a bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Mix into the creamed mixture. Stir in the hot water. Pour mixture into pan.

Bake 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool to room temperature and then cut into 1" cubes.

For the cream cheese mixture:

Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add milk or cream until desired consistency is reached. (I preferred mine a little more pudding like, but you could leave it thicker if you wanted.)

For the pumpkin mousse:

Combine pumpkin, 1/2 cup cream, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice in saucepan. Heat for 5 minutes. Let cool completely.

Whip remaining cream until soft peaks form. Fold into cooled pumpkin mixture.

To assemble trifle:

Divide gingerbread cubes into 3 equal piles (save 2 or 3 cubes for crumbling on top). Assemble as follows:

1/3 gingerbread cubes
1/2 pumpkin mousse
1/3 gingerbread cubes
All of cream cheese mixture
1/3 gingerbread cubes
1/2 pumpkin mousse

Can decorate the top with whipped cream rosettes, if desired, or crumbled gingerbread.