By: Cindy Wider, General Manager of Berlin Natural Bakery

With Christmas fast approaching, I am sharing a recipe for Pumpkin Streusel Trifle. This dessert looks so elegant and although it may give the impression otherwise, it is actually a very easy dessert to make. It can be made a day or two ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. Trifles are typically assembled in a big glass bowl or container in order to display the various layers. I am including a recipe for homemade vanilla pudding, but if you prefer and you have no dietary restrictions that prevent you from eating it, you may make a 4.6 ounce box of vanilla pudding mix instead. But, I must say…the homemade vanilla pudding is much easier to make than I had imagined. It tastes so good and I really liked the idea of knowing exactly what it contains.

Pumpkin Streusel Bread Trifle

For Homemade Vanilla Pudding: 1/3 cup white spelt flour 2/3 cup sugar Pinch of salt 1 tsp. vanilla 2 cups milk 2 eggs, beaten 1 ½ teaspoons butter In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, flour and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir about ½ cup hot filling into the beaten eggs to incorporate eggs. Return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in butter and vanilla. Cool, stirring occasionally. (Will probably take about an hour to really cool). To make Pumpkin pudding for trifle: 1 – 30 oz can pumpkin puree ½ cups packed brown sugar 1/3 tsp. ground cinnamon or cardamom In a bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, the brown sugar and the cardamom or cinnamon. Stir in cooled pudding. Reserve in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap until assembling the trifle. To make Homemade Sweetened Whipped Cream: 1 pint heavy whipping cream ¼ cup granulated or powdered sugar ¼ teaspoon vanilla Whip whipping cream on high speed of mixer until begins to thicken. Turn mixer to lower speed and add sugar and vanilla. Once mixed in, return mixer to high speed and continue whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until assembling the trifle. Note: My husband loves homemade whipped cream, so to make sure I have enough for a thick layer; I usually make a double batch. To Assemble Trifle: One or two loaves of Berlin Natural Bakery Pumpkin Streusel Tea Bread, broken up into bite sized pieces. Layer half of the Pumpkin bread pieces on the bottom of a large clear bowl. Pour half of the pumpkin pudding mixture over the pumpkin bread and then add a layer of whipping cream. Repeat with the remaining pumpkin bread, pudding and whipping cream. Refrigerate overnight. For our next recipe, I will be sharing a delectable Raspberry Cheesecake recipe. For the crust, I will be using Berlin Natural Bakery Oatmeal Gem cookies. You will also need five 8 oz pkgs of cream cheese, 7 extra large eggs, sour cream, 2 lemons, 1 cup raspberry jelly or preserves, and 1 ½ to 2 cups red raspberries. (Instead of raspberries for the topping, you can use any fruit you prefer or use no topping at all). Until next time, may you and your loved ones experience true joy and happiness throughout this Christmas season. And may you get all your shopping done early!! Happy baking!