Holiday Buzz Cake

It all began with a trifle...

The Holiday Buzz Cake, as it has come to be known, is the first of our experimental adventures. Essentially, it's a pumpkin trifle and our interpretation is as follows (REMEMBER: #1 rule is it's ok - no - it's essential to taste as you go!):

-trifle dish or clear glass bowl since the layers are pretty

-1 can Pumpkin Pie filling

-.75 stick of cream cheese (adjust to taste, we found this amount made a perfect creamy layer without diminishing the pumpkiny goodness)

-nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, allspice, vanilla extract (go for the real stuff), sugar to taste

-whipping cream

-lady fingers, go 2 packages as we found one to fall just short

-spiced rum, go for the liter bottle and have some left over for cocktails

-Graham crackers

-nut halves of your choice (we like pecans, but walnuts are also good)

-brown sugar for reduction and aesthetic reasons

-1/4 stick budduh

Ok, start with a little reduction. Heat a sauce pan to med/low. melt the butter (DON'T BURN THE BUDDUH!), put about 1/4 cup booze in the pan and let simmer until the alcohol is reduced slightly. Add and melt brown sugar. Taste, you want this to have the spiced flavor and be just slightly boozy.

When reduction is ready dip lady fingers (don't let them soak or they with dissolve) and line bottom of trifle dish. Feel free to dip more in prep for the next layer until reduction is gone.

In a mixing bowl, blend the pie filling, cream cheese, sugar and spices. Scoop a layer over the lady fingers.

In a plastic bag, crush Graham crackers and nuts, sprinkle a layer over the pie filling.

In a second bowl whip the cream, add a dash of sugar if desired, and add a layer to the dish.

Repeat this layering until you get to the top of the bowl. Make a little more reduction, glaze some un-crushed nuts and arrange on top. You can also sprinkle a little brown sugar or the Graham cracker mix over the top.

We've found that this tasty trifle only gets better over time so allow it to sit in the fridge for an hour or more before serving!