Remember when Halloween was a night filled with fun and excitement?  You could dress up however you wanted and no one could tell you otherwise.  It was the perfect night to stay up late and gorge yourself on candy-child’s dream come true!

I remember my first Halloween; I was a little red devil and I ate every piece of candy as soon as I got it. Maybe that’s why I only made it around the block!  But the thing I remember most from that night was my first stop; I walked up to my neighbor’s house and instead of saying “Trick’O’Treat,” I shouted, “Happy Birthday!”

Now, almost 20 years later, Halloween is not as alluring as it was when I was little . We at De’Lure’ realize this, so we brainstormed to find the perfect desserts for a grown-up Halloween party.  How about a delicious pumpkin mousse trifle with layers of whipped cream and dark chocolate brownie crumbles? And just in case you need a second treat, try our easy Halloween-themed cake pops. Take one bite of either of these desserts and you’ll be thinking Halloween is no longer just for kids!

Pumpkin Mousse Trifle

Trifle

• 1 box GF brownie mix baked according to instructions
• Cool whip topping

Pumpkin Mousse

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 eggs
• 2.5 oz. confection sugar
• 5.5 oz. pumpkin
• Pumpkin spice mix (3/4 t. cinnamon, 1/8 t. nutmeg, ¼  t. ginger, 1/8 t. allspice, pinch of salt)

Preparation

1. Whip cream until soft peaks and set aside
2. Whip eggs and confection sugar together several minutes until light and fluffy
3. Add pumpkin and spice mixture and whip 1-2 more minutes until all is incorporated
4. Fold whipped cream into pumpkin egg mixture until smooth and creamy
5. Build your trifle – Layer with broken pieces of brownie, pumpkin mousse, and cool whip until you have two layers.

Cake Pops

• 1 box chocolate cake mix baked according to instructions
• 1 container Betty Crocker Creamy White Frosting
• White Chocolate
• Orange Coloring
• Cake pop sticks

Preparation

1. After cake has cooled, break into pieces in large bowl adding enough frosting to form balls
2. Refrigerate for approximately one hour
3. Melt white chocolate just to creamy consistency.  Don’t overheat.
4. Add coloring a little at a time until you get the color you want to use
5. Dip cake pop stick into white chocolate mixture and then into a cake ball.  Do this until you have all the sticks in your cake balls.  This allows the white chocolate to set.
6. Drizzle the remaining orange white chocolate mixture onto cake ball.  Have fun and use your imagination.
7. Work with a parchment lined baking sheet unless you have a cake ball stand.
8. Refrigerate until ready to use.  In our photo we used a wine glass.

De’Lure’ can be found at deluredessertsbakery.com, facebook: de’Lure’ Desserts and Bakery and Twitter

De’Lure’ began when its founder, Ragan, was recovering from a three year illness that was finally diagnosed as celiac.  Ragan left her corporate job to take a Summer off but was asked to help at a local café.  That part-time position led into baking when the pastry chef moved out of town.  Making these beautiful pastries and desserts was rewarding but Ragan could  not eat any of them!  This gave her the idea to begin experimenting at home.  The more she sampled to my family and friends, the more Ragan wanted to make them available to the gluten free community.   Ragan shared this with her friend and manager at the café, who began sending her patrons who would come in asking for anything gluten free.  Ragan’s husband encouraged her to pursue going after her own clients.  Eventually, Ragan got the courage to ask her favorite gluten free Italian Restaurant if they would sample some of my creations.  It was not long before they had three of her items on their menu.   De’Lure products can now be found at several local establishments including that café where Ragan began her new career and she has taken on two very talented bakers to help with all the private orders she also receives.  Ragan could not be happier and has never looked back!