Thursday, December 16, 2010

Fun with trifles

It has been my observation that the frumpy trifle of our youth is now a hip suburban dessert. Pretty, easy to make, yummy to boot... what is not to like?
New trifle bowl in hand,a hankering for gingerbread, and random jar of lemon curd in hand I entered the glamorous world of trifles.  I found inspiration from the internets, this recipe at Epicurious in particular is the source of the gingerbread recipe.


Lemon Ginger Trifle

Gingerbread Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon or so of freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, soft
1 cup packed dark brown sugar or light if you don't have dark
1 large egg
1/2 cup mild molasses
3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk, sometimes I cheat and use powdered
1/2 cup hot water (just but glass measuring cup with water in microwave)

Creamy Part:
2 pints of heavy cream
vanilla and sugar to taste
1 jar of lemon curd (10 oz)
Pecans or candied walnuts/pecans (optional)
Make gingerbread, you can do this a day ahead of the trifle
  • Start by preheating the oven to 350°F..
  • In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt, set aside.
  • In a stand mixer beat the butter and brown sugar at medium speed until pale and fluffy, add the egg, it will fluff up more and get paler.  Then add the molasses and buttermilk, beat until smooth.  Add the hot water, it will look curdly, mix a minute or so more until less curdly looking.
  • Pour into a buttered and floured 9 by 13 pan.  I am getting lazy, I use the baking Pam that has the flour in it already.
  • Bake until done about 40 minutes.
  • Cool (obviously) before making the trifle.

Preparing the trifle:
  • Whip the heavy cream until you get nice peaks, add sugar and vanilla to taste, put into a bowl and set aside.  I go light on the sugar because the lemon curd is sweet.

  • Mix the lemon curd until light and fluffy, about a minute.  Fold in half of the whipped cream.
  • Layer hand crumbled gingerbread on the bottom of the trifle bowl, cover with lemon mixture, cover that with some whipped cream. Sprinkle some nuts on top if you like.  Repeat until you run out of ingredients.