Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

My sister Molly made this amazing dessert over the Christmas holiday. It is rather labor intensive, but worth having if you are willing to devote a few hours to its creation. Thought it would be fun to share.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

The first thing you must do is to make a gingerbread. This is an extra spicy version that has flavor enough to stand up to the other flavors.

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup dark molasses

1/2 cup apple juice

2 eggs

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Butter and flour a 10" Springform pan. Heat oven to 350°. Stir together flour, cinnamon, cloves, ground ginger, baking soda, and salt in a container (I use a plastic measuring pitcher because it comes in handy later). In a large bowl, mix sugar with oil, juice, molasses, eggs, and fresh ginger in a large bowl. Mix in crystallized ginger. Stir in flour mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Then bake for an hour. Cool this for ten minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely. (You could actually even stop right here and serve this warm with some whipped cream or a nice little Creme Anglais but resist my friends, resist, this is only going to get better)

Pumpkin Custard Ingredients

3 cups half-and-half

6 large eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup molasses

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups puréed pumpkin, or about 1 1/2 cans

Scald the half & half in a heavy saucepan (by scalding we mean to take it right up to the edge of boiling then remove it from the heat). In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Mix in pumpkin and warm half-and-half. When it is smooth and thoroughly mixed put it into a buttered baking dish which you then set into a larger baking dish. Fill the larger dish with hot water to about 1" below the rim of the custard dish. This is called a Bain Marie and will ensure that your custard bakes evenly all the way through. Bake this at 325° for 50 minutes and start to check it. You want a set, firm custard and a knife inserted into the center should come out clean. Cool and refrigerate overnight.To assemble your trifle get your trifle bowl out (visuals are important with this, so don't be a barbarian, get a trifle bowl) and make sure it is sparkling clean.Whip one quart heavy cream with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and set aside.You will also want about 1/2 cup of gingersnap crumbs.Spoon 1/2 of the Pumpkin Custard into the bowl and layer 1/2 of the gingerbread over that and 1/2 of the whipped cream over that. Do it again. Top the final layer of whipped cream with the gingersnap crumbs.