RICHMOND, Va. – Local Pastry Chef Meghan Fitzroy Phelan, Co-Founder of Longoven RVA was back in the Virginia This Morning kitchen and this time, made a tasty seasonal delight, a Pumpkin Trifle featuring Chocolate and Orange Marmalade. For more information you can visit http://www.longovenrva.com
Pumpkin, Milk Chocolate, Orange Trifle
The following recipe has four distinct parts: the pumpkin cake, the chocolate pastry cream and the orange whipped cream, and the assembly. The trifle can either be built in individual serving cups (stem less wine glasses, tumblers, mugs, etc) or it can be built in one large trifle dish. There are two different amounts listed below for the two different serving options.
Pumpkin Cake
(For 6 individual servings) (For one large trifle, serves 12)
1 cup white sugar 2 cups white sugar
1 cup all purpose flour 2 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder 1 TB baking powder
1 tsp baking soda 2 tsps baking soda
½ tsp fine sea salt 1 tsp fine sea salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup 2 TB vegetable oil ¾ cup vegetable oil
1 cup pumpkin puree 2 cups pumpkin puree
2 large eggs 4 large eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 9” round or square pan (or two cake pans or one 13” by 9” baking pan if making the larger batch). Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk until mixed completely.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, pumpkin puree and eggs until thoroughly combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the top.
Bake the cake(s) for 40-45 minutes or until the center springs back to the touch. Let cool completely in the pans. (Can be made a couple of days ahead.)
Chocolate Pastry Cream
(For 6 individual servings) (For one large trifle, serves 12)
1 1/3 cups whole milk 2 2/3 cups whole milk
3 large egg yolks 6 large egg yolks
¼ cup 1 TB white sugar ½ cup 2 TB white sugar
2 TB cocoa powder ¼ cup cocoa powder
2 TB cornstarch ¼ cup cornstarch
3 TB unsalted butter 6 TB unsalted butter
3 oz milk chocolate, or semisweet 6 oz milk chocolate, or semisweet
Combine the milk and cocoa powder in a medium sized pot and place over medium high heat until just starting to simmer.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, yolks and cornstarch in a bowl. Whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the butter and chocolate and set aside.
Once the milk is scalding, remove it from the heat and carefully pour some of the milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the pot with the rest of the milk, whisking constantly. Once it is all combined, return the pot to the stovetop and cook the milk mixture over medium high heat until thickened. Stir constantly using a rubber spatula. The mixture will clump oddly before it thickens completely; that is normal! Continue to cook it until it is a consistent thickness and not lumpy.
Once the mixture is thick, remove it from the heat and pour over the butter and chocolate in the bowl. Let it sit for a couple of minutes and then using a whisk or an immersion blender, whisk until it is smooth. Place plastic wrap onto the surface to prevent skinning and place it in the refrigerator to chill. (Can be made a couple of days ahead.)
Orange Whipped Cream
(For 6 individual servings) (For one large trifle, serves 12)
1 cup heavy cream 2 cups heavy cream
1 TB white sugar 2 TB white sugar
zest of ½ an orange zest of 1 orange
orange liqueur/extract (optional) orange liqueur/extract (optional)
Combine all ingredients and whip with an electric beater until stiff peaks form.
For Assembly
Pumpkin cake cut into cubes
Chocolate pastry cream in a pastry bag
Orange marmalade
Orange whipped cream in a pastry bag
Chocolate shavings
Whether doing individual cups or one large trifle, the procedure is the same. Place a layer of cubed pumpkin cake on the base of the serving vessel. Using a pastry bag, pipe the chocolate pastry cream over the cake cubes in a thin and even layer. Scatter orange marmalade pieces evenly over the pastry cream. Then pipe a thin and even layer of orange whipped cream over the top. Repeat the process again: one layer of cake, one layer of chocolate pastry cream, orange marmalade, and top with orange whipped cream. Smooth the top of the whipped cream with an offset spatula and then sprinkle the top with chocolate shavings. (Can be assembled one day ahead.)
