Happy Labor Day weekend! Time to kick off the pumpkin spice craze with these 10-minute hazelnut trifles. If you need to whip up a pretty dessert fast, this is a really good and absolutely foolproof one. Just simple layers of crumbled graham crackers with pumpkin spice and a little melted butter, some maple-flavored whipped cream, chopped hazelnuts and Nutella.
- ⅓ cup crumbled graham crackers
- 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
- ⅛ teaspoon pumpkin spice
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped hazelnuts
- hazelnut spread, warmed up for a few seconds in the microwave
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon maple extract
- Mix all the graham cracker layer ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Combine cream, sugar and maple extract and whip to stiff peaks.
- Layer graham crackers, hazelnut spread, then whipped cream into glasses. Go easy on the hazelnut spread, it quickly becomes overpowering, just drizzle a thin layer of it onto the Graham crackers.
Food Photography and Styling: I wanted this hazelnut trifle to be a fall photo and to evoke a feeling of fall I chose a color palette of brown, red and orange hues and sprinkled brown, wrinkled leaves into the composition. To create an outside feeling I used wood planks that look like an outside table and lit the set slightly from the back instead of from the side (side light always suggests an indoor table next to a window to me).
You’ll notice that this photo has a lot of horizontal lines created by the gaps between the wood planks but I still decided to frame it vertically. Typically, predominantly horizontal lines call for horizontal orientation and vertical lines for vertical orientation but that’s a rule I broke here and I think it works. I think the relatively tall glass looks nice in the vertical frame and the horizontal lines don’t distract me.
I observed the rule of thirds and placed the glass along one of the vertical lines that dissect the frame into thirds and placed the tip of the whipped cream on one of the intersection points.
The whipped cream needed to have some good curves to look interesting so I piped it with my beloved 1M piping tip that produces beautiful swirls. It’s by far my favorite piping tip, I don’t even know why I have others. I got the spoon and the metal plate from antique stores and the fabric is just one of those little quarters from Jo-Ann.
For info on what type of camera and lighting equipment I used head on over to my FAQ page.
Mmmmm.. what a perfect way to introduce some fall flavors without getting heavy! And I agree with you–I think the horizontal boards with the vertical orientation works here. I LOVE how deep the shadows are, balanced by the bright, bright highlights on the boards. It reads of bright fall light–still early in the season–but a bit warmed up by the rich browns. You inspired me to go gather some leaves for a couple fall shoots I’m doing here soon!
So happy to hear that I inspired you, that makes me smile! Glad you like the heavy shadows, I’ve always been a big fan of dark shadows and sometimes I have to be careful not to go overboard with them. :)
Totally loving the look and sound of these hazelnut and pumpkin spice trifle. I have to make the recipe for dessert soon… have a feeling too that they would be perfect for christmas!
Wow! It looks special! I want to try this hazelnut trifles!