Welcome to Cincinnati Fall Recipe Week! A whole week devoted to delicious, seasonal recipes by some of the city’s finest writers. Each day of the week will be devoted to a different local writer and their recipe.
To kick off the start of Cincinnati Recipe Week, we begin with a sweet creation by culinary student, aspiring chef and food writer, Stephanie Boertlein of Small Girl Adventures. You can visit Stephanie’s website at http://smallgirladventures.blogspot.com/
You can find a list of all the Cincinnati Fall Recipe Week recipes here.
Enter Stephanie…
There’s something about the fall that has always made me happy.
Maybe it’s the vibrant and beautiful colors that come into existence just before we’re granted with bare, cold, and white scenery. The colors that grant a scenic route that reminds you of an old Robert Frost poem.
Maybe I love fall because I can dress in those warm sweaters and plaid jackets…oh and those cute brown boots that have been eyeing me from my closet since last winter’s end.
Maybe I love fall because it’s the start of dinners full of warm and hearty comfort food…the food that brings the whole family to the table and never fails to ignite automatic smiles. There has always been something special about digging into a big bowl of steamy soup on a cold day, the smell of a crispy roasted chicken and fluffy mashed potatoes, and the soul warming sensation of a cup of hot chocolate by the fireplace.
And then I think about it some more and decide that maybe I love fall so much because I can have culinary experimentation with that overused, clichéd, and worn-out but delicious squash…the pumpkin.
Yep, that’s it. I love fall mainly because of the pumpkin.
Pumpkin Mousse Trifles
Makes 8-10 cups
This lovely pumpkin trifle was actually one of the first successful and edible holiday desserts I made for my family when I was a kid. Ever since then it’s been an instant classic. It is a very simple and quick recipe and you can customize it with different spices or cakes however much you would like!
- 15 oz pumpkin puree
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon, ground
- ¼ tsp salt, kosher
- ¼ tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 dash of nutmeg
- ¼ tsp orange zest
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar
- 4 cups prepared, cut and cubed, Angel Food or Pound Cake
- 1. In a chilled bowl, whip 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks are formed. Set aside.
- 2. In another bowl combine the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg, and zest and mix well. Take your whipped cream and fold it slowly and gently into the pumpkin mixture to form your mousse. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- 3. Take your remaining ½ cup of heavy cream and whip it with the 1 tablespoon of confectioners’ sugar until peaks are formed. Set aside.
- 4. Take your serving dishes and place equal amounts of the cubed cake in the bottom. Top the cake with about ½ cup of mousse each and then place a dollop of your sweetened whipped cream right on top. Dig in and enjoy!
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