Pumpkin Trifle w/ Eggnog Pudding

During my 14 years of selling Pampered Chef I managed to accumulate a lot of their products. One item that I keep boxed and rarely use is their lovely trifle bowl. It was even featured as an Oprah Favorite Thing. So when I was invited to Garrett's for a holiday dinner, I figured it was time to put it to use.

I also knew I wanted to do a pumpkin trifle with pumpkin cake as the base and eggnog pudding. But I knew it needed more and so that was why I had made the Candied Pumpkin and Candied Pecans yesterday. Put all together, this was one fabulous trifle.  I even went a little overboard in that I reheated the candied pumpkin today, added rum, and then flambeed it. And to add a bit of color and tartness, I threw in some fresh cranberries as well. 

Here, below, are the other two component recipes - the pumpkin cake and eggnog pudding.  I did fold in whipped cream to the eggnog pudding to both increase the volume and stabilize it. To create the trifle I cubed the cake and then layered my trifle bowl: cake, candied pumpkin, pudding, cake, candied pumpkin, chopped candied pecans, final pudding layer with candied pecans and cranberries for decorating the top and a final dusting of fresh nutmeg.

Pumpkin Cake
This cake makes a large 9x14 rectangle cake or you can do 2 9" rounds for a layer cake. 

2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pan(s) by greasing and flouring.

In a large bowl, blend together sugar, oil, and eggs.

In a medium bowl, blend together the dry ingredients. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet, blending until smooth.  Stir in pumpkin puree. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until tester comes out clean. Cool for five minutes and then turn out onto cooling rack.

Eggnog Pudding (from Paula Dean)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch

3/4 cup sugar

3 cups milk

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Freshly grated nutmeg

Mix together flour, cornstarch and sugar in a saucepan. Add 1/4 cup of the milk to the flour mixture and stir until smooth. In another saucepan, scald the remaining 2 3/4 cups milk; add to flour mixture. Cook and stir mixture over medium-low heat; do not allow to boil. In a bowl beat the yolks; remove 1/2 cup hot mixture and add to yolks to temper them; mix well and return to pot. Continue to cook over low heat for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; add butter and vanilla. Let cool and then refrigerate to chill.