a while ago one of my bffs went through a trifle phase - she was making fruit trifles all the time, it was kinda awesome! trifles are great to bring to potlucks and dinner parties. you can make the trifle as easy (store bought pound cake, cool whip) or as hard (homemade pound cake & whipped cream), and as cheap (frozen fruit) or expensive (fresh fruit) as you want. i saw a trifle bowl on sale from one kings lane for $15, bought it and decided that i would make a trifle for my family's easter brunch!
i chose to make a mostly homemade trifle - i enlisted my sister (who wants to be a baker) to make me a lavender pound cake. she used this recipe (without any glaze) and it was AMAZING. i could eat the cake by its self, it was so delicious. btw - if you are planning on making anything that requires dried lavender, you should really decide about a week ahead of time. we went to 4 (yes, 4!) different grocery stores looking for dried lavender for cooking. even whole foods didn't have it (buy some here or make your own)! we ended up buying a lavender plant and using fresh lavender.
lavender-lemon fruit trifle
makes 18-20 servings
ingredients:
1 12 oz package frozen raspberries
1 12 oz package frozen blueberries - the organic wild ones from TJ's are the best!!
1 25 oz jar peach halves, drained & sliced - i used TJ's yellow cling peach halves in white grape juice
1-1 1/2 loaves of pound cake - the amount you need depends on the size of your bowl
2 16 oz cartons of heavy whipping cream
6-8 tablespoons sugar - depends how sweet you want your whipped cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
zest from 1 1/2 lemons
step 1: about an hour and a half before you are going to assemble the
trifle, take the frozen fruit out put into a strainer and let thaw.
step 2: slice the pound cake into 1/2 inch slices, then cut into quarters.
step 3: pour heavy whipping cream into a large bowl. add sugar, vanilla, lemon juice & zest. beat with an electric mixer until desired consistency is reached.
step 4: layer the cake at the bottom of the bowl. top with fruit, followed by a layer of whipped cream. repeat the cake - fruit - whipped cream layers until you have a layer of cake at the top of the bowl. top with more whipped cream. garnish with some left over fruit, and/or some lavender sprigs.
step 5: scoop out with a spoon. enjoy!
the trifle was a hit! the flavors were amazing, and the lavender pound cake and lemon whipped cream really added some great flavors! the best part about this - no one could even tell that i used frozen fruit! i will definitely be making trifles all spring and summer long! whats your favorite spring/summer dessert?
p.s. - i'll pretty much buy anything that says its organic... can't you tell?
