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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Recipe: English Berry Trifle with Cointreau















English Berry Trifle with Cointreau
by Victoria Challancin 
This Christmas I decided to make a dessert I haven't made in years:  a proper English-style berry trifle.  Armed with a bag of frozen organic berries from Costco, a punnet of fresh raspberries, and a large container of fresh strawberries, I searched for a recipe in which they could shine.  The recipe that came closest to memories of trifles made by my British friends in the Middle East came from a source that called it a New England Style Berry Trifle, but I knew in my heart that it was British, seriously British--one of those lovely British puddings that made it across the Atlantic and found its way into American culinary legend.  

While the link will take you to the original recipe, I should note the changes that I made while trying to recreate my friends' recipe.  First of all, I baked my Mom's recipe for a traditional Southern pound cake.  Nothing complicated, just a dense and hearty cake that would easily stand up to a good soak in a liquor-laced solution.  I followed most of the recipe as it was given, but once I had made the orange-lemon curd and allowed it to cool, I folded it gently into two cups of whipped heavy cream.  The rest is history.  And the result so lovely that it just may become a part of my own Christmas tradition--a part of my own history.

3 comments:

SEARCHINGSHIRLEYREISE said...

WOW !! What a great site. I found it today on the Morelia connection. This trifle made my mouth water. I hit the recipe button but itdidn't come up. It took me backto the top of the blog. What I really wanted was the recipe for the lemon lime curd. At our home in McAllen I have a ever bearing lime tree. I would like to make a big batch of curd to bring down with me. Thanks for your help and please add me to your list. SearchingShirley

Victoria Challancin said...

Shirley, Thanks so much for your kind words. I just tried the link and it worked for me. Who knows what I did. Here is the link to the original recipe (http://baking.about.com/od/triflerecipeindex/r/cointreau.htm). If you have problems with it, just let me know and I will post the citrus curd recipe. Happy Holidays!
Victoria

creampuff said...

So beautiful, Vicki! Delicious!