Pumpkin Latte Trifle ~Green Mountain Coffee Giveaway!~

So here we are day 4 of Pumpkin Week. These recipes my friends have shared here this week are must makes! Today I am pretty excited I get to share one of the first blogs I started to read. I'm fairly new to the blog scene. I wasn't a huge blog reader until right around the time I started my own. I stumbled upon Julia's blog Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body last summer when I was feeling fat. I was 8-9 mo's pregnant. My pre baby body at the time was exactly what the title of her blog was. I was indeed a fat girl trapped in a skinny body! I eat like a trucker but stay pretty thin.  But then I made this Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting for my mom's birthday the day before I went into labor... yep.... for all I know, it was that cake that sent me into labor at 10 days over due! Pregnant ladies... maybe you should make it as well? 

Julia lives in California so instead of the  hot out of the oven baked goods she is sharing something a tad cooler to celebrate the pumpkin love. You all know how much I love my Pumpkin Lattes so this Pumpkin Latte Trifle is getting made SOON!

After the recipe be sure to check out today's Green Mountain  Coffee Giveaway!

Each fall I pretend like pumpkin isn't going to become my obsession. Each fall I fail. Miserably. If I'm absolutely truthful with myself, and you, I gotta be real and confess I just love pumpkin desserts. So I'm stoked that Carrie is doing an entire week dedicated to pumpkin. More pumpkin recipes and ideas is never, ever, a bad thing!

I love that pumpkin + spices = sweat heavenly goodness that can be combined with just about anything. Like coffee. I totally hated pumpkin spice lattes the first time I had one, I even gave it back and asked for something else. But now, yep, I love them (just like every other girl my age, it's in our DNA).

I also have a special place in my heart for trifles. The combination of cake, rich pudding, and fluffy whip cream is just spectacular. And the fact that you can make the trifle a few days ahead of time makes it a go-to dessert for me (I'm all about saving time where I can). Some people might worry the trifle will get soggy if they make it in advance, that's a legitimate worry, but let me put your fears to rest. Truth is, I think trifles are at their best on the second day. Nothing is soggy, it's just all perfectly combined to make for the perfect bite.

This trifle might just make an appearance on our Thanksgiving table this year. I can make it on Tuesday and then the rest of the week my oven will be available for other things like turkey, sweet potatoes and apple pie. Why yes, I'm already thinking about Thanksgiving dinner, it's my favorite food holiday, after all. But you don't have to wait until then to make it, you should do a few test runs before, you know, for quality control.

Pumpkin Latte Trifle

Latte Pound Cake

Makes 1 loaf

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1/2 cup super SUPEER strong coffee

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar at high speed until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

Sift together dry ingredients.

Mix coffee and vanilla. Add wet and dry ingredients to butter mixture alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack and cool completely before slicing and serving. You can slice it and eat it hot, but don't assemble the trifle while it's hot.

Pumpkin Pudding

2 2/3 cups whole milk, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 cup pumpkin puree

Bring 2 cups of the milk to a boil in a medium saucepan. While it is heating, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and spices in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk the remaining 2/3 cup whole milk into the sugar/spice mix. Once milk is boiling, slowly add it to the cornstarch mixture in the bowl, whisking the whole time.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan over low heat, add the pumpkin puree, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Once it comes to a simmer, cook it for one minute or two longer and stir in the vanilla extract. Transfer to a large bowl and chill in refrigerator for at least an hour before assembling the trifle. It will firm up a bit, but it won't be 'firm' like other pudding. It is on the runnier side, which is perfect for the trifle.

Spiced Whipped Cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix, using a hand mixer, until firm peaks form. Don't over whip or you'll get butter.

Assembling the trifle

You can make 6-8 individual sized trifles in coffee cups or bowls, or you can make 1 large trifle in a trifle dish or a 9x13 inch pan.

Cut the pound cake into 1 inch cubes.

Layer the trifle in the following order:

pound cake cubes

pudding

whip cream

And repeat the layering until your coffee cups or large dish are filled.

I was able to do 3 layers in 6 coffee cups, and 2 complete layers in a 9x13 inch pan. Just to give you a point of reference.

Check out Julia's blog Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body, also follow her on Twitter!

Green Mountain Coffee Giveaway

The folks at Green Mountain Coffee know how much I LOOOOOVE all things pumpkin coffee. If you look in my fridge you find a pound of Pumpkin Spice Coffee right now. I practically live off this stuff from Sept-November!

One of you lucky readers can win a bag of their Pumpkin Spice Coffee. 

How to enter:

Tell me how you like your coffee... are you a cream and sugar person, just sugar, or black? 

Additional entries:

1) Follow Bakeaholic Mama on Facebook click HERE.

2) Follow Green Mountain Coffee on Facebook click HERE.

3) Follow Bakeaholic Mama on Twitter click HERE.

4) Follow Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body on Twitter click HERE.

5) Follow Green Mountain Coffee on Twitter click HERE.

6) Tweet the following " I just entered to win @GreenMtnCoffee from @BakeaholicMama #Giveaway " 

Up to 7 Entries per person, open to US residents only.

(Disclaimer, I have received no monetary compensation for write this post. Green Mountain Coffee is supplying one reader with coffee and a travel mug. All opinions are my own. )