Bon Appétit: Pumpkin Spice Icebox Cake

I absolutely got roped into making this cake after watching a Facebook video of it.  That's how Bon Appétit sucks you in.  They post this delicious looking recipe, and sure enough, you're pulling the ingredients out of your pantry before you even realize what you're doing.  And then you're eating this wonderfully sloppy mess that tastes like fall and looks like redneck cooking at its finest, and all is right with the world.

Pumpkin Spice Icebox Cake
From Bon Appétit magazine, November 2016

2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise, or 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
2 cups heavy cream
Kosher salt
1¼ cups pumpkin purée
½ cup light brown sugar
⅓ cup mascarpone or sour cream, at room temperature
⅓ cup sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
12 (5x2-inch) graham crackers
2 ounces strong coffee or espresso, room temperature
Pecan brittle, pecan praline, or chocolate butter toffee bar, chopped (for topping)

Scrape seeds from vanilla beans into a large bowl; reserve pods for another use. Add cream and a pinch of salt to bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat until stiff peaks form.

Whisk pumpkin pureé, brown sugar, mascarpone, condensed milk, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Fold 1½ cups whipped cream into pumpkin mixture until combined and no streaks of white remain.

Using a spatula or spoon, smear a thin layer of remaining whipped cream in the center of a large serving plate (make sure it’s big enough so 3 graham crackers can cover it). Place 3 graham crackers, side by side with the long sides touching, over cream. Lightly brush tops with coffee. Spread ¾ cup pumpkin mixture evenly over crackers. Top with ½ cup whipped cream and spread evenly to edges. Repeat with remaining layers, ending with whipped cream. Chill, uncovered, until crackers have softened, at least 3 hours and up to 6. Top with chopped brittle before serving.

Makes 8 servings