Pumpkin Butter & Caramel Trifles

 Did you purchase pumpkin butter on a whim and now don't know what to do with it?  Well don't you worry, this recipe is a wonderful way to use up that ingredient!

Jump to Recipe

Sometimes being a foodie is hard. Why do you ask? Being a foodie seems to make people think you want fancy exotic ingredients. Which was the case with the jar of pumpkin butter I received as a gift. While I was intrigued by the thought of pumpkin butter, I also was at a loss on what to make with it, and how to use it. I did try it on toast and while it wasn't terrible, it wasn't the most amazing thing ever. So it sat. In my fridge. For a month. I finally got fed up and decided I needed to use it somehow or toss it out.

That's when the opportunity presented itself. I had baked cupcakes and a few of them crumbled as we tried taking them out of the tin. So, I decided to make a trifle using the crumbled cupcakes and a quick pumpkin butter mousse.

What is Pumpkin Butter?

Pumpkin butter is basically a pumpkin jam made with pureed pumpkin, apple cider, brown sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin spice.

What to do with Pumpkin Butter?

This was my dilemma. I loved the smell of the pumpkin butter, but didn't care for it on toast. After chatting with a few other bloggers, I've discovered that pumpkin butter is used in a variety of ways. You can add it to a yogurt parfait, top pancakes with it and even use it as a filling in a sandwich. I guess the trick here is to be creative.

What is a Trifle?

Trifle is a layered dessert commonly made with sponge fingers, soaked in sherry, alternating with custard and fruit. It comes in many varieties, using different ingredients such as cake, cookies, granola, pudding, chocolate. It is traditionally topped with whipped cream.

What is in these Pumpkin Butter & Caramel Trifles?

Cake- I used a plain old vanilla cake mix here, but if you prefer baking your vanilla cake from scratch, be my guest!

Mousse- I made my mousse by combining softened cream cheese with pumpkin butter and freshly whipped cream. The result was similar to a no-bake cheesecake filling.

Caramel- nothing fancy here, just a jar of store bought caramel sauce.

Pumpkin seeds- I wanted to add texture to the top of my trifle, so I added some lightly toasted pumpkin seeds.

Whipped cream- every trifle must be topped with whipped cream. While I prefer making my own using heavy cream, vanilla and powdered sugar; store bought whipped cream is also yummy.

PIN IT!!!

Equipment needed for this recipe

• mixer
• mixing bowls
• trifle bowl, mason jars, or fancy parfait glasses
• pipping bag, or zip top bags
• skillet
• spoons

Pumpkin Butter & Caramel Trifle

Vanilla Cake Mix
ingredients to make the cake mix
1 brick of light cream cheese, softened
1 C pumpkin butter
1/4 C powdered sugar
2 C whipping cream
3 Tbs powdered sugar
caramel sauce
raw pumpkin seeds

Prepare cake mix and bake according to package directions. Cool completely and cut into cubes, or break up into pieces.

While cake cools, beat cream cheese with 1/4C powdered sugar; until light and fluffy. Add in pumpkin butter and beat for an additional 3 minutes, scraping down sides, to ensure there are no lumps.

In a separate clean bowl, beat the cream to soft peaks. Slowly add in 3 Tbs of powdered sugar and continue beating until cream reaches hard peaks. Fold half of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.

Place several pieces of cake in the bottom of a trifle bowl, or pint size mason jars (for individual servings). Drizzle with caramel sauce ( several Tbs for a large trifle and 1 Tbs for individual). Spoon a portion of pumpkin butter mousse, over the caramel drizzled cake; to cover completely. Repeat layers starting with cake and ending with remaining whipped cream.

Toast the pumpkin seeds by placing them in a dry skillet, over med-low heat. Toss gently and cook until seeds become slightly frangrant.

Drizzle with additional caramel sauce and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.