Blueberry Lemon Trifle!

  

This is one of those desserts that looks like you really went all out and fussed over it, but  really it's very simple and if you use a store bought angel food cake, you don't even have to turn the oven on!  I love the combination of lemon and blueberries, so this really appealed to me.  It's just perfect for Spring and any springtime entertaining you will be doing!   Also, for those watching your weight and trying to cut fat and calories, you can make this in a lighter version.  

 Here is what you will need:

1 angel food cake, cut in 1" cubes (can bake your own or buy one already made)

1  (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened (can use light cream cheese)

1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk (can use fat free version)

1 (3 oz.) box of instant lemon flavored pudding mix (can use sugar free)

1 cup milk (2% works fine)

3 Tbs. lemon juice or the juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp. vanilla

1 can blueberry pie filling

16 oz. frozen whipped topping (can use light)

fresh blueberries and strawberries for garnish

Whip the cream cheese and the sweetened condensed milk with an electric mixer in a large bowl.  Add the milk, lemon pudding mix, vanilla and lemon juice and whip until it starts to thicken and is smooth.  Fold in half of the whipped topping and blend.  Place this in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to set up. 

Place 1/2 of the angel food cake cubes in a tall glass trifle dish.  If you don't have a trifle dish, use a large glass bowl.  This looks prettiest if you can see the layers.  Next layer half of the pudding mixture over the cake.   Spread 1/2 of the blueberry pie filling over the pudding layer around the edges of the dish, more toward the sides than the middle.  This makes the layers show up when looking at it through the glass.

 Repeat the cake, lemon pudding, and blueberry pie filling layers again.  Finish the top with the remainder of the whipped cream.  Garnish with the fresh blueberries and strawberries however you wish.   I just sprinkle the middle with blueberries and made some strawberry fans to place around them.  Chill for a couple of hours before serving for the best results.   If you like more fresh berries, you can also sprinkle additional blueberries and sliced strawberries in the layers.



Strawberry Shortcake Trifle!

There is nothing that says 'summer' like strawberry shortcake!!!   When strawberries come in season and they are extra yummy, I always start thinking about new ways to use them.   My husband loves just a simple strawberry shortcake!   When I tell him I need to think of different ways to use the strawberries for the blog, he still just wants the strawberry shortcake!   

So, I came up with this "Strawberry Short Cake Trifle" to make him happy and to turn it into something a little different for my readers!!!  The results were really wonderful I must say!  This is so delicious, but also very easy!

This is a yummy mixture of pound cake, a creamy custard, whipped cream and sweetened strawberries!!!   I prefer to use the classic pound cake in this, because it's just more like classic shortcake, but to lighten it up some, you could use an angel food cake also!  

Here is what you will need:

Vanilla Pound Cake

1 cup (2 sticks)  butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 cups all purpose flour

Custard Filling

1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

16 oz. container frozen whipped topping, thawed (reserve 1/4 of it for the top)

2 pints strawberries, capped and sliced

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 6 cup loaf pan well with nonstick baking spray.

In a large mixing bowl,  with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time and beat.  

Beat in the vanilla, salt, baking powder, and gradually add in flour.  Beat just until combined.  Do not over mix.  Pour into the loaf pan and place on middle rack in preheated oven.   Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.   Cool for about 15 minutes in the pan and then invert on a rack to cool completely before using in the trifle. 

If you really want to make this easy on yourself, you can also buy a frozen pound cake and use it and it's still really good!

I have found that the "Sara Lee All Butter Pound Cake" is perfect in this!!!

Place the strawberries, you have washed, capped and sliced in a bowl with a tight fitting lid. 

Sprinkle 1 cup sugar over the berries and drizzle 1/4 cups water over all. Stir with a big spoon just until the sugar is throughout.

Save about three of the nicest, bigger berries for the garnish on top, leaving them whole!

Cover with the lid and place these in the fridge for up to 24 hours.  You need to let them sit for at least 6 hours so this needs to be done the night before or early in the day! This process is called macerating the berries and it makes them taste even better!

As they sit, the juices come out and thicken slightly and it just makes the berries so good!

Cut the pound cake in uniform cubes and spread one half of it in the bottom of a large trifle dish.  If you don't have a trifle dish, you can use a large glass bowl! 

With an electric mixer beat the cream cheese, confectioners sugar and vanilla until it's fluffy. 

Mix in the 3/4 of the carton of frozen whipped topping.  Reserve the other 1/4 for the top of the trifle. 

Spread 1/2 of the strawberries and some of the juice over the cake cubes.

Spread 1/2 of the custard layer over the berries and cake.  Now repeat all of the layers again!

Spread the 1/4 of carton of whipped topping you reserved  over the top and garnish with the berries you kept out! 

 I like to take the can of aerosol whipped cream and do the top so it's extra pretty!  That's just an optional step, but it's not hard at all and it does look really pretty!!! 

This is best if you chill it in the fridge for about 4 -5 hours before serving!  

White Chocolate Covered Strawberry Trifle!

I love trifles, because even if you are not an expert baker, you can turn out a pretty dessert that gets oohs and ahs.  Baking and I have an on and off relationship...sometimes I bake a cake and it behaves beautifully, but sometimes I bake one and nothing goes right.   Does anybody else have that happen?  Usually, when things go crazy with a cake, it's when I am supposed to be taking it someplace or having company for dinner or whatever.   When it goes wrong like that, I cut it up and make a trifle out of it. Nobody knows the difference and sometimes it's actually better than the cake would have been.  This dessert was intended to be a trifle, but I did think about a cake in the beginning.

Here is what you will need for this trifle:

Strawberry cake mix,  eggs, strawberries, whipped cream, cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, oil, white chocolate pudding mix.  Also semi sweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips for dipping strawberries.

Mix the ingredients for the strawberry cake and bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 30-33 minutes.  A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean when done.  Set aside to cool completely.  The recipe calls for water, but a tip from my mother is to always replace the water with Sprite (or any clear carbonated beverage).  It makes the cake mix lighter and more flavorful.  Also, don't mix with an electric mix or over beat it.  Use a wire whisk and mix just until it is mixed thoroughly.  This makes the cake moister.

Beat softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk together.  Add vanilla flavoring, pudding mix and a cup of milk and beat until incorporated.  Fold in half of the whipped cream. 

Cut the cake in about 1" squares and slice 2 cups of strawberries.  Layer 1/2 the cake cubes, 1/2 the pudding mixture, and 1/2 of the sliced strawberries, then repeat.  Finish the top with the rest of the whipped cream.  Cover and chill for about 3- 4 hours.  While it chills make the chocolate covered strawberries.

Rinse and drain the biggest, best strawberries.  Lay them on paper towels to dry.  You will need to change the paper towels to get all of the water off of them.   It's very important when dipping strawberries in chocolate that they not have any water at all on them.  If even a drop of water gets in your chocolate it will ruin it.  If you are using cold strawberries out of the refrigerator, let them sit out and come to room temperature before dipping.  If they are cold and condensation forms, the chocolate will not stick.

Place 6 oz. white chips and 6 oz. dark chips in two separate glass bowls with 1Tbs. of shortening in each.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds.  Stir and microwave 30 more seconds.  You can use real butter also, but the shortening makes the strawberries shinier and the consistency is better.

Dip the half of the strawberries in dark chocolate and half in white chocolate.  Drizzle the berries with the opposite color with a spoon.  Place these in the refrigerator to harden. 

I wait until I am read to serve the trifle to put the berries on top along with white chocolate shavings.  I took the left over white chocolate and poured it on nonstick foil, let it harden up and then used it to make my white chocolate shavings for the top.

Ingredients:

Cake layer:

1 box strawberry cake mix

3 eggs

3/4 cup water or Sprite

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped strawberries

Pudding layer:

White chocolate instant pudding mix

1 can sweetened condensed milk

8 oz. cream cheese

1tsp. vanilla flavoring

16 oz whipped cream (1/2 for pudding layer and 1/2 for top)

1 cup milk

2 cups sliced strawberries (between the layers)

Chocolate covered strawberries:

6 oz. white chocolate chips

6 oz semi sweet chocolate chips.

2 Tbs. shortening

You will need about 2 quarts of strawberries for this recipe.