Trifle: Tips, Techniques, Recipes

[La Niña]

So I have leftover sour cream pound cake. I want to make a trifle. I could, of course, just layer it with some sherry and fruit and a custard...but perhaps the gang has some interesting ideas for me...

[Dave the Cook]

I love traditional trifle, unpretentious and sloppy. But --

- sliced apples/ pears and marscarpone cheese sweetened with maple syrup; reduced apple cider

- chocolate mousse and strawberries or tart cherries cooked down into a chunky sauce

- sabayon with berries and balsamic vinegar with confectioner's sugar

[Huevos del Toro]

Here are 56 recipes for trifles.

[La Niña]

Thanks. But I wanted to hear about the gang's favorite way of doing it.

[Simon Majumdar]

Soak the cake in a little Madeira and layer with Pears ( poached ) and an egg custard flavoured with chocolate and flaked almonds and some almond extract. Top with Whipped Cream and more toasted flaked almonds

Sounds a bit weird but works wonderfully

S

[La Niña]

I don't want to use pears. How about bananas?

[Simon Majumdar]

Not bananas

apples would work if you sauted them a little first to soften

S

[Bond Girl]

I layer it with a nice pastry cream, some strawberries, kiwi and sliced mango and caramelized bananas. Throw it a bit of crushed pralines for texture. Let me know if you need a recipe for pastry cream.

[SobaAddict70]

Try banana liqueur in place of Madeira, roasted bananas with a splash of light rum, and a sabayon with crystallized ginger. Garnish with oven-dried banana chips.

SA

[La Niña]

Don't feel like the tropical fruit thing, and too much banana is overkill (today at least). I'm leaning toward a caramelized banana (great idea) and some berries, a custard, whipped cream, and toasted almonds on top. And some booze of course.

[SobaAddict70]

Do they have to be berries? (Maybe lingonberries, but I don't think they'd work with bananas.)

Maybe a coffee sabayon to go along with the roasted bananas, Kahlua, whipped cream and chopped honey glazed walnuts. Try spiking the whipped cream with a little powdered cardamom, and partially soaking the pound cake in cognac. (Yes, this is an untraditional trifle, but you did ask for creativity...)

SA

Edited January 22, 2003 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[bushey]

With pound cake I like lemon curd, sometimes lightened with whipped cream or creme fraiche, and raspberries.

What did you settle on, and how did it work out?

[La Niña]

I'm going to do layers of the pound cake, filled with jam, doused with some sherry. Then I'm going to caramelize some bananas, and put them in with some berries soaked in kirsch (I'll buy what looks good - strawberries, rasberries, blueberries) - then make a custard and pour that on, then finish with whipped cream and some toasted slivered almonds as a garnish. Will report on the results this evening.

[nightscotsman]

Frozen berries should be fine for a trifle, especially raspberries. Though I wouldn't soak them in kirsch - it'll clash with the sherry.

[bushey]

Sounds excellent.

Another way I sometimes "fancy up" pound cake is by plating a slice on a pool of creme anglaise and topping with a dollop of softly whiped cream and some berries, garnished with mint leaf. Looks and tastes great, and is really easy when Sara Lee bakes the pound cake.

[La Niña]

Frozen berries should be fine for a trifle, especially raspberries. Though I wouldn't soak them in kirsch - it'll clash with the sherry.

I'll do one or the other - sherry or kirsch.

[scamhi]

Nina,

I saw this prepared the other day and mmmm it looked really good.

From Barefoot Contessa

Made with

Pound cake, Orange cream, Raspberry preserves and fresh rasberries, and whipped cream.

http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/recipe/0,6255...5,25567,00.html

[stellabella]

And some booze of course.

i have fun playing around with diffusions--or is it a concoction--by steeping herbs or zest or what-not in the wine or sherry for a day or so before using in the trifle. i don't know what i'd use with banana. when i made blueberry trifle i actually used rosemary.

[La Niña]

My trifle wasn't so good. I used bananas and berries, which was a mistake. Too many contrasting flavors. The custard was good. I think a trifle should be greater than the sum of its parts, and this one wasn't. I'm not sure that pound cake is the right thing to use - sponge cake is better - the pound cake is too heavy.

[forever_young_ca]

I am hosting 11 adults for Christmas dinner. I am starting to think about dessert and leaning towards trifle, plus perhaps one or two other things.

I think of trifle as a spectacular looking presentation, and something that can be made ahead.

My mother cannot eat seeds or nuts, but I can usually work around this.

I would love to have some suggestions as to what I can do to make this a memorable dessert................................

[sugar plum]

I just picked up this month's Chatelaine magazine and there's a recipe for eggnog trifle by Anna Olson. Looks delicious and nut-free! I found the recipe online here:

http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails.aspx?dishid=3715

The version of this recipe that's in the magazine uses cranberries instead. I couldn't find it on the Chatelaine website but if you'd like it, PM me. I'll send it your way.

[kthull]

I've made the Tiramisu Eggnog Trifle from Bon Appetit and people loved it. I didn't do the chocolate leaves but it was still a showstopper of a trifle.

[annachan]

The basic of trifle is cake, custard, fruit (usually berries) and cream. For the holiday season, it's nice to have a chocolate version. Since good raspberries and strawberries aren't easy to find this time of year, maybe consider a mandarin or orange and chocolate version.

A few other ideas: Chocolate Roulade, Yule Log, Tiramisu.

[persiancook]

My Thanksgiving trifle has vanilla custard, apricot jam, ladyfingers, roasted pears, and pomegranate seeds. It is very pretty and the ingredients would still be in season for Christmas.

[forever_young_ca]

Great suggestions.....keep them coming

How do you do your roasted pears?