It’s pumpkin time. I’m ready to go find one that’s perfect for carving. Then again, maybe I’ll get another one to use for cooking. This is a recipe taken from Victoria magazine. It makes a totally delicious cake and one to nibble while reading ‘Til Death – the October cozy. Enjoy!
Creamy Pumpkin Icebox Cake
Makes 1 (8-inch) cake
Ingredients
- 1½ cups chocolate wafer crumbs*
- 3 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 4½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup canned pumpkin
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 32 chocolate wafer cookies*
- Garnish: sweetened whipped cream, chocolate wafer crumbs*
Instructions
- Line the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Cut 2 (3½-inch-wide) strips of parchment to line sides of pan.
- In a medium bowl, stir together wafer crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar at medium-low speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add cream, pumpkin, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves; beat at low speed to combine. Slowly increase speed to medium-high, and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
- Spread 1 cup of pumpkin mixture over chilled cookie crust. Top with a single layer of 8 wafers, careful not to touch sides of pan. Top with another 1-cup layer of pumpkin mixture and 8 cookies; repeat layers 2 more times for a total of 4 layers of each. Spoon remaining pumpkin mixture over last layer of cookies.
- Smooth top with an offset spatula, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Remove sides from pan, and remove parchment paper.
- Transfer cake to a serving platter, and let sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before cutting. (For a firm cake, serve after 20 minutes; for a softer mousse-like cake, let sit for another 15 minutes after cutting.)
- To garnish, place sweetened whipped cream in a pastry bag fitted with an open-star tip*. Pipe 8 spirals evenly spaced around outside edge of cake and sprinkle with wafer crumbs, if desired.
Notes
*We used Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers and a Wilton 1M decorating tip.
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Of course we need a drink of the season to go with the cake. Since it’s the beginning of holiday time, try a festive drink to complement the cake! If you don’t want to use Champagne, you can substitute any bubbly. I immediately think of Prosecco, but perhaps that’s because it’s a favorite drink of the characters in Murder in Provence (I love the books by M. L. Longworth). This recipe is taken from Liquor.com.
Perfect Pear
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounces Bluecoat American Dry gin (or another dry gin)
- 1/2 ounce St-Germain
- 3/4 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 3/4 ounce simple syrup
- 1 barspoon fresh pear puree
- Champagne (or the bubbly of your choice)
- Garnish: 1 pear slice
Steps
- Add the gin, St-Germain, lemon juice, simple syrup and fresh pear puree to an ice-filled shaker and shake until chilled.
- Double strain into a coupe glass.
- Top with a splash of Champagne and garnish with a fresh slice of pear.
Let us know how the cake and drink work out. We’re licking our lips with ours.