Pumpkin Brownie Cranberry Trifle

Welcome to the first annual Bloggers Gonna Blog Friendsgiving!

Now that Halloween has past and it’s November it’s time to think about Thanksgiving. Over the next few days, my blogger friends and I will be posting a bunch of recipes to the Bloggers Gonna Blog Friendsgiving link up below. There are salads, side dishes, entrees and of course, desserts! I took one of my favorite Thanksgiving sides and turned it into dessert with this Pumpkin Brownie Cranberry Trifle!

Every year for Thanksgiving I bring two things, cranberries (usually 2 kinds, a requested spiked version and than a more traditional version) and a dessert so this year I decided to put the two together! Well kind of because I still will be making cranberries, because I love them, and I have another dessert as well (will be coming soon). Really are you surprised at another cranberry recipe? Even if you aren’t a huge fan of them you will have to give this a try because I left the house with this bowl in the fridge to head out for date night and while I broke it down to two bowls for photographing purposes (not looking at the photos until after it was gobbled up, realizing it didn’t photograph as well as I’d hoped) and serving it disappeared leaving just a tiny bit left. Oh don’t worry I cleaned up those last couple spoonfuls for breakfast! Just like the day after Thanksgiving when I add leftover (kidding I always make extra knowing there will always be some to take home, it’s called planned overs) cranberries to my oatmeal, muesli, and or yogurt.

Pumpkin and cranberries are two things that scream Thanksgiving to me, and chocolate well that always makes everything better and it pairs well with both. I’ve made pumpkin and gingerbread trifles but there was always something missing to me. Many are also overly sweet with pudding, cake, and all that whipped cream. This trifle is a little more balanced as the cranberries aren’t overly sweet and add a hint of tart.

This trifle while being a dessert is a little healthier and packed with some superfoods like cacao powder and cranberries. It is still a sweet dessert though even with the antioxidant superfoods. What I’m more excited about, besides it tasting DELICIOUS, is that it’s gluten free, vegan (dairy free and egg free), soy free, and paleo friendly! This means that pretty much everyone can enjoy it except those with a nut allergy which we don’t have any of in the family.

For while I’ve been playing with some ideas for gluten free, vegan, paleo desserts that everyone can enjoy and after many fails a fail turned into a great idea! Traditional brownies have always been fudgy and almost undercooked and that’s how I love them, well plus the overdone chewy edges because they’re so good! I haven’t found a good gluten free vegan brownie that comes out fudgy like that without an off taste. Although I saw some a week or two ago that look so good from a fellow blogger that look so gooey and delicious I can’t wait to try! I’ll report bake on those but in this case a drier brownie, that even if it’s a little crumbly, works best for this trifle. Anytime that you have a brownie, blondie, even cookie recipe not work out but yet they taste good think about a trifle to save the day. I don’t know why it took until I had other recipes not turn out that I realized that, like really realized that. Of course I don’t want to have a “failed” recipe so usually just keep tweaking. In the case of this trifle a fudgy brownie like the ones I grew up loving wouldn’t work well as if it sat a long time with the cranberry sauce could get too wet and would be like a big spoon of wet fudginess and not brownie.

This is a recipe that will need to be made ahead, the brownies and cranberries so they can cool and chill completely before assembling. Than you can assemble the trifle a few hours to up to the night before. This can be a good thing if you’re hosting Thanksgiving as you will be busy preparing other food. Or for those of us looking for something quick, easy, and delicious to bring because you can whip up the brownies and cranberries ahead of time and than assemble the night before or the day of (just a few hours before serving but if you make it before dinner you’ll be just fine).

Don’t forget to check out the other Thanksgiving recipes in the link up below, so many delicious and inspiring recipes!

A heads up, there may or may not be a recipe posted this Friday as I’m going to be attending Pinch Of Yum’s Photography Workshop! I’m excited and while I don’t physically need to be present to post a recipe I’m working on a lot of content but I’ve been trying to hold out until after the workshop to photograph some up coming recipes. Either way don’t forget to come back Monday for another delicious and inspiring Meatless Monday link up!

Pumpkin Brownie Cranberry Trifle
Makes approximately 16- 20 servings

Pumpkin Brownies
Makes a 9×9 pan
1c almond flour
3/4c coconut flour, sifted
2/3c cacao/cocoa powder (Navitas Naturals Cacao Powder)
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt
1c coconut palm sugar
2/3c pumpkin puree
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla
2/3c coconut oil, melted
1/2c non dairy milk (So Delicious Unsweetened Vanilla Coconut Milk)
1/2c chocolate chips, optional (Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips for vegan/dairy free)

Cranberry Sauce
5c fresh cranberries1c coconut palm sugar
1c water

6c homemade coconut whipped cream or 2 tubs So Delicious Coco Whip

*You will need to make the brownies and cranberry sauce at least 8 hours before assembling trifle. I like to make them the night before and put the trifle together the day of a few hours before I will be serving it.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl mix together almond flour, coconut flour, cacao powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. In another bowl mix together coconut sugar, pumpkin puree, lemon juice, vanilla, coconut oil, and milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until it almost comes together, add in optional chocolate chips if using, and continue to mix being careful not to overmix. Spread the mixture into the parchment paper lined pan, it will be thick you can use an offset spatula to spread it evenly. Bake for 30-32 minutes.

While the brownies are baking you can prepare the cranberry sauce. In a saucepan bring cranberries, coconut palm sugar, and water to a boil. Cover and reduce to simmer for 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Once cool enough transfer to a glass jar or bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool chill.

Once the brownies are done let cool for 30-45 minutes before moving to the refrigerator to set, cool completely.

A few hours before you will be serving your trifle, or no sooner than the night before, assemble your trifle. Cut chilled brownies into about 1″ squares, I did 8×8. How many layers you do will depend on the size of your bowl. I ended up doing 2 smaller bowls for the trifle photographed (I did need a little extra whipped cream for topping). I usually use a large bowl and go for 3-4 layers, layering brownie chunks, whipped cream, cranberries, and repeating reserving a few chunks and whipped cream for topping. Refrigerate until to serve. Enjoy!

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