Dec 7 / Erin

Tasty Tuesday: Raspberry Cream Trifle

I don’t know about you, but whenever I think about trifles, I think about the Friends episode when Rachel made a trifle and accidentally included meat and peas among the custard and jam. Then Joey says, “What’s not to like? Custard, good. Jam, good. Meat, Goooooooood.” Priceless.

I like making trifles for large groups because they look appealing and are easy to serve up come dessert time. So, for our dinner party this past Saturday I decided to try a new trifle recipe and made it the semi-homemade way. Introducing the raspberry cream trifle (sans meat and peas, I promise)…

Wanna whip up your own? It looks like a lot of steps, but I promise that it is very, very easy. Here’s how to do it…

Raspberry Cream Trifle – serves 12-15 people (PRINTABLE VERSION)
(adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cranberry Trifle recipe)

CAKE INGREDIENTS:

2 boxes of Betty Crocker classic pound cake mix. (You can definitely make your cake from scratch, but if you are short on time, this is one boxed cake that I stand behind.)
Enough of the ingredients called for by the mix (I believe it was 4 eggs, 1 stick of butter and 1.5 cups of milk for the two mixes, but I already disposed of the box!)

RASPBERRY COMPOTE INGREDIENTS:

3-4 cups of fresh raspberries (frozen could work here, too, I think. Just keep them frozen until you’re ready to cook them)
1 TBS of lemon juice
1 TBS cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar

WHIPPED FILLING INGREDIENTS:

2 cups heavy whipping cream
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

CAKE INSTRUCTIONS:
Prepare the cakes according to the box, but split the mix among four 9-inch, well-greased round layer pans (you will only use 3 layers for the trifle, but I’m sure you can find some use for the 4th layer). Let the layers cool on a wire rack until they are cooled to room temperature (I recommend letting the layers sit in the pans for 10-15 minutes before removing). If your layers happen to break when you remove them from the pan, do not fear. Just piece the layers back together; they will be smothered by fruit and cream and no one will know.

You’ll want to trim the three layers that you’ll be using. My trifle dish is smaller at the bottom than at the top, so for the first layer I trimmed off about 1/2″ of cake all the way around and used a serrated knife to expose the spongy cake on the top. I trimmed less off the edge of second and third layers because the dish gets wider as you go. So, each layer went from looking like this:

To this:

I’m sure it’s not completely necessary to trim off the top, but I feel like the fruit soaks in better if you do.

RASPBERRY COMPOTE INSTRUCTIONS:

Make the compote while your cake is cooking and cooling. Add all ingredients into a saucepan, bring to a boil (stirring often) and then reduce the heat to medium low and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely in the refrigerator. Your finished product should look about like this consistency (still some pieces of whole raspberry, but also lots of nice raspberry sauce):

WHIPPED TOPPING INSTRUCTIONS:

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugars and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Gradually add cream and beat until soft peaks form.

ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS:

Here is the fun part! Slide your first cake layer into your trifle dish. Use a knife to cut some slices into the top of the cake so that the raspberry will soak down in. Top with one third of the raspberry and spread evenly. Then top with one third of the whipped topping and spread evening. Continue like this until you are done. Don’t fret that your dish gets smudged on the inside as you go because it fills right up and the layers cover everything.