Pumpkin Trifle

Call me unAmerican or a horrible New Englander but...

I don't like pumpkin.

Every October, everyone goes gaga for pumpkin everything and usually I turn my nose up at most pumpkin goodies and stick to my tried and true favorite flavor, caramel.  Mmmmm caramel.

This dessert has made me a pumpkin believer.  And...I didn't use a recipe!  I had every intention of making the cake portion of this trifle the pumpkin flavor, until I found this tasty treat at the store...

It's the caramel, gets me every time.  So I went ahead and baked myself up this box'o'cake.

Before pumpkinizing this bad boy, I quickly mixed up some instant vanilla pudding and threw that in the fridge.  Why?  Oh you'll see!  Now comes the pumpkin.  I went ahead and threw a whole block of cream cheese in a bowl with a can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling, good ole pumpkin purée), and pumpkin pie seasoning.  

I whipped that fun mixture up, halfway through deciding it needed a little something else and went drizzle happy with some maple syrup.  Yup, that happened.

Mmmmm, fluffy goodness.

Remember our friend the vanilla pudding chilling (haha) in the fridge?  Go ahead and blend that into pumpkin town.  You'll get something fabulous.  Go ahead and lick those beaters.

If you can stop stealing samples, put the whole bowl back in the fridge, covered.

Now it's time to get ready for trifle assembly.  Smash up some crunchy cookies.  I used golden Oreo's but you could get crazy and use Nilla wafers or gingerbread cookies or whatever your pumpkin loving heart desires.  

Next, sprinkle your tubs of Cool Whip with some pumpkin pie seasoning and gently mix it up.  

Now comes the fun part.

Take half of your cooled cake and crumble it into your trifle dish.  I like to squish it down really well and make a nice base for the rest of the layers.  Mostly I think I just like the feeling of squishing cake.

After squishing my cake, I realized I had some freeze dried apples left over from making caramel apple popcorn (have I mentioned I love caramel??).  I crumpled those little tasty treats up and sprinkled them on the cake.  I love a good crunch in trifles.

Next came the pumpkin mixture.

Then cookie crumbles.

Then I realized I probably didn't need to add a picture of every layer.  So next came Cool Whip, then I started all over again, cake, dried apples, pumpkin, cookies, Cool Whip.  Whew!

Every time I make trifle, I always get a last layer panic, worrying that all the layers won't fit.  They always do.  You think I'd learn.

Ta da!

Beautiful!  Doesn't hurt that it's also crazy delicious, even if you don't like pumpkin.  I'm thinking next time, a caramel drizzle on the top because, you know my feelings on caramel.

So there you have it, a reformed pumpkin hater's new favorite trifle!  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Trifle

1 box Caramel Apple cake mix (eggs and oil needed varies on the type of cake you make)

1 package Golden Oreos

1 box instant vanilla pudding (requires milk to make)

Dried apples or apple chips

1 can pumpkin purée 

1 block cream cheese

2 tubs Cool Whip

Pumpkin pie seasoning 

Maple syrup

1.  Bake cake according to box instructions.  Allow to cool.

2.  Mix instant pudding according to box instructions.  Place in fridge to set up.

3.  In a large bowl, add pumpkin purée, cream cheese, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, and approximately 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie seasoning. Blend until smooth.

4.  Add chilled pudding to pumpkin mixture, blend until incorporated.  Set bowl in fridge, covered.

5.  Crush Oreos in a sealed bag.  Sprinkle pumpkin pie seasoning into both tubs of Cool Whip and gently mix.  

6.  Layer your trifle!  Crumble half of the cooled cake into the bottom of your trifle dish, press down to create a compact bottom layer. Sprinkle crushed dried apples on top of the cake.  Add half of the pumpkin mixture, using a spatula to spread and create an even layer.  Add crumbled Oreos, then one tub of Cool Whip.  Repeat layers, ending with Cool Whip.