red, white and blueberry trifle

 

the goods:

 

1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 store-bought pound cake, cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices

1 bar (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature

2 cups heavy cream, divided

3 cups fresh blueberries

3 cups fresh raspberries

 

Make lemon syrup: In a small saucepan, bring 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Let cool completely, then brush over both sides of cake slices. Quarter each slice.

 

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese with remaining 1/3 cup sugar on high speed until lightened. With mixer on medium speed, gradually add 1 cup heavy cream in a steady stream; continue beating until mixture is light and airy (mixture will be like a very soft whipped cream).

 

Arrange cake slices in bottom of trifle dish, spoon cream mixture over top in dollops; spread to sides of dish. Scatter with blueberries and raspberries. Repeat layering 2 more times (depending on the width of your trifle dish you may only be able to do 2 layers).

 

Using an electric mixer, whip remaining cup of cream with 1 tablespoon sugar until soft peaks form. Add to top layer of trifle before finishing with remaining berries.

waffle-and-strawberry trifle

the goods:

1/3 cup plus 3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon fine salt

1 and 1/2 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

2 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 pounds strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch slices

8 ounces frozen Belgian waffles, toasted and cut into 1 and 1/2-inch pieces

Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium heatproof bowl. In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, salt, milk, 1/2 cup cream, and egg yolks. Cook over medium-high, whisking constantly, until thickened and bubbling, 6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, whisking, 1 minute. Pour through sieve into bowl. Stir in butter and vanilla until combined. Place plastic wrap against surface of pudding to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate 3 hours (or up to 3 days).

Toss strawberries with 1/2 cup sugar; let sit until fruit has released some juice, 20 minutes.

Using an electric mixer, beat 1 and 1/2 cups cream and 1/4 cup sugar on medium-high until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes.

In a large bowl or trifle dish, layer 1/2 the waffles, strawberries, pudding, and whipped cream.

Repeat.

Cover trifle with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours (or up to 1 day).

frozen chocolate-mousse trifles

the goods:

2 cups crumbled chocolate angel food cake (5 ounces)

4 large egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1/2 cup cold heavy cream

1/2 ounce bittersweet chocolate, for serving

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites on high until foamy. With mixer on medium, gradually add sugar. Increase speed to high and beat until stiff glossy peaks form, 2 minutes. With a rubber spatula, gently fold cocoa powder into egg white mixture. In another medium bowl, beat cream on high until stiff peaks form, 3 minutes. Gently fold whipped cream into egg white mixture.

Fill each of four small glasses with 1/4 cup cake and top with heaping 1/4 cup mousse. Repeat to make a second layer with remaining cake and mousse.

Freeze until firm, 3 hours (or up to overnight). Let sit 10 minutes at room temperature, then finely grate chocolate over tops to serve.

red, white, and blue berry trifle

the goods:

5 cups raspberries

3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup fresh orange juice (from 1 large orange)

10 ounces marscapone cheese (1 and 1/3 cups)

1 and 1/4 cups cold heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

20 to 24 ladyfingers (from a 7-ounce package), broken into 1-inch pieces

2 and 1/2 cups blueberries

In a medium bowl, combine raspberries with 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and orange juice. With the back of a fork, lightly mash berries to release their juices and let sit 10 minutes. Meanwhile in a large bowl, stir together marscapone and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar until smooth. Whisk in cream, vanilla, and a pinch of salt and whisk until soft peaks form, about 4 minutes.

Cut 1 or 2 pieces parchment 1 inch taller than side of an 8-inch springform pan and line inside of pan. Place half the ladyfingers in pan and top with half the raspberry mixture. With a small offset spatula, spread half the whipped cream over berries. Tap pan gently on counter to remove air bubbles. Repeat with remaining ladyfingers, raspberry mixture, and whipped cream.

(yes, that is my son in the background with his finger poised ready to swipe a taste!)

Top with blueberries and refrigerate until whipped cream is stiff and cookies have softened, about 3 hours. To serve, unmold trifle and peel away parchment.