Pumpkin Spiced Baileys Trifle

Mmmmm. This is something I could eat every single day for a long time.

I'm not a big fan of pumpkin pie. I'll eat it, but it's really just an excuse to eat a mound of cool whip. So this year I decided to make my own spin that I'd actually enjoy, and this recipe I adapted from How Sweet Eats is one to repeat every Thanksgiving (and fall holiday get together ... want to get together now?).

I might have made this again a week later just to eat photograph it.

I wasn't sure if this recipe sounded amazing just because I was doing Whole 30, so most everything sounded good. But it was good. My version is a bit boozy because I swapped the original coffee (to make tiramisu) with Bailey's Pumpkin Spice. I'm glad I don't like coffee because I loved this. It can be put together the night before and still have some crunch to the gingersnaps the next day for lunch. By dinner, though, the snap was gone, but the flavors remained.

Pumpkin Spiced Baileys Trifle
2 1/2 cups cold heavy cream

6 Tbsp. maple syrup
16 oz. mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. Baileys Pumpkin Spice Liquor
1 tsp. vanilla 

1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. allspice
10 oz. Baileys Pumpkin Spice Liquor
16 oz. gingersnap cookies
Chopped dark chocolate, for garnish

Place the cold cream and 2 Tbsp. maple syrup in the bowl of your stand mixer, and beat until peaks form to make whipped cream. Scoop it into a bowl, and chill until you need it.

In a clean bowl of your stand mixer, beat the mascarpone cheese until it’s creamy. Beat in the pumpkin puree, powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons maple syrup, 2 tablespoons Baileys liqueur, vanilla , cinnamon, ginger and allspice. Beat until combined and smooth. Take 1/3 of the maple whipped cream, and gently fold it into the pumpkin mascarpone mixture until combined and smooth.

Pour remaining 10 oz. Baileys into a small bowl, and place a handful of gingersnap cookies in the liquor. Soak briefly, and layer in a trifle dish. Repeat the process to soak all the cookies for the trifle as you create the layers. Layer gingersnap cookies with pumpkin mascarpone, and repeat the layers until cookies and mascarpone are gone, ending with mascarpone. (Reserve a few gingersnaps, without soaking them in Baileys, to crush for garnish.)

 Top the entire trifle with the remaining maple whipped cream. Refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours before serving. Before serving, crumble remaining gingersnap cookies on top, and top with chopped chocolate. Serves 10 or more.