A Mid Winters Cherry Cranberry Trifle Food

CANADIAN CRANBERRY TRIFLE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine cranberries, cranberry sauce, sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to medium; cook, uncovered, until thickened, 10-15 minutes. Add wine and extract. Remove from heat; cool completely., For custard, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in another large saucepan; gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2-3 minutes longer. Remove from heat., In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks. Return all to pan, whisking constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes. Stir in coconut extract. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate, covered, for 1 hour., To assemble, cut cake into 1-in. cubes. In a 3-qt. trifle bowl or other glass serving dish, place half of the cake cubes; sprinkle with wine if desired. Layer with half of the almonds, cranberry mixture and custard. Repeat layers. Refrigerate, covered, until serving. Top with whipped cream, additional cranberries and toasted almonds.

CHERRY CRANBERRY TRIFLE

Steps:

• Combine sweetened condensed milk and water. Add pudding mix; beat about 2 minutes. Chill just until thickened, about 15 minutes. Fold in whipped topping.
• Spoon 1/3 of pudding mixture into 12 cup serving bowl; top with half of the cake cubes. Top with half of the pie filling and 1/3 of the pudding mixture.
• Repeat with remaining cake cubes, pie filling and pudding mixture.
• Cover and chill overnight. Garnish as desired.

CLASSIC TRIFLE WITH BERRIES OR CITRUS

Steps:

• Make the custard: In a large bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add egg yolks and whisk until smooth.
• In a medium saucepan, heat cream, milk and any of the optional flavorings over medium heat until simmering.
• Slowly whisk 1/2 cup hot cream mixture into yolk mixture until well mixed. Whisking egg mixture constantly, slowly pour in remaining cream. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and place it over medium-low heat.
• Cook custard, stirring continuously especially around the bottom and edges of the pot, until the custard has thickened enough to mound on the spoon, 5 to 10 minutes. Don't let it come to a boil, but a few simmering bubbles is fine. If it starts to curdle at any point, remove pot from the heat and whisk it intensely. It should smooth out.
• Once the custard is thick, scrape it into bowl, whisk in vanilla, and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto its surface. Let the custard cool for at least 30 minutes. At this point, custard can be chilled for up to 3 days, or used to assemble the trifle. Pluck out cinnamon stick or cardamom pods, if using, just before assembling trifle.
• Prepare the fruit: If using berries, put them in a bowl, sprinkle with sugar to taste, and use a fork to mash them. If using oranges, supreme them: Cut the tops and bottoms off each one, squeezing the juice from the severed pieces into a bowl. Using a paring knife, cut the peel and all the white pith off the fruit. Working over the bowl to catch the juices, slice the segments away from the membrane, letting fruit fall into the bowl. It's OK if the segments fall apart; you're going to break them up anyway. When all the segments are cut out of the membranes, squeeze the membranes over the bowl to release as much of the juice as possible. Sprinkle oranges with sugar, to taste, and, using your hands, break the segments up into pieces. You want a pulpy, juicy mix in the bowl. There should be a lot of liquid. Let oranges or the berries macerate for 20 minutes.
• To assemble the trifle, spread the ladyfingers on one side with a thick layer of jam or marmalade. Put the ladyfingers, jam-side down, in the bottom of a medium (6- to 8-cup) trifle dish or any other serving bowl or dish (or use individual dishes, cups or glasses). You want to cover the bottom completely and, if you are using a bowl, go a little bit up the sides; break up the ladyfingers if needed to make them fit.
• Sprinkle sherry (or whatever liquid you are using) over the ladyfingers, making sure they are well moistened. Be generous: You don't want any dry bits.
• Spoon fruit and all their juices over ladyfingers. Top with custard. If you like a higher cake-to-custard ratio, you can break up a few more ladyfingers and scatter them on top of the custard, then drizzle with more sherry. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
• When ready to serve, using an electric mixer or a whisk, beat the cream and confectioners' sugar until fluffy; it should hold a light peak. Spoon whipped cream on top of trifle and garnish as you like. Serve immediately. (Leftovers will keep covered in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days.)

INDIVIDUAL CRANBERRY TRIFLES

Steps:

• Prepare, bake and cool angel food cake according to package directions. Cut into 1-in. cubes; set aside. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, sour cream and vanilla; beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. In a bowl, combine the cranberry sauce, sugar and orange zest. , In individual parfait glasses or a 3-qt. trifle bowl, layer half of the cake cubes, cranberry mixture and whipped topping mixture. Repeat layers. Refrigerate until serving. Garnish with cranberries and mint if desired.

CRANBERRY TRIFLE

Steps:

• Make compote:.
• In a medium saucepan cook the cranberries, 2 cups of sugar, 2 cups of water, ginger, and orange zest for about 5-8 minutes over medium-high heat, until some of the berries just begin to burst. Let compote cool completely.
• Make Cream Filling:.
• Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and vanilla on high until well combined. With mixer on medium, gradually add heavy cream; continue beating until soft peaks form.
• Arrange 1/3 of cake in a 3 quart trifle dish. Spoon 1/3 of compote over cake; spread to sides of dish. Dollop 1/3 of cream filling over compote; spread to sides of dish. Repeat twice more, ending with cream filling. Cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours (or up to 1 day). Garnish with freshly grated orange zest (or candied orange zest), if desired.

CHERRY TRIFLE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1-3/4 cups of milk and pudding mix. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. In another large bowl, beat the whipped topping mix, vanilla and remaining milk until stiff peaks form., Cut cake into 1/2-in. cubes; place half in a 3-qt. glass bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon cherry juice. Top with half of the pie filling, half of the pudding and 1/4 cup of chocolate syrup. Repeat layers. Top with whipped topping and remaining syrup. Sprinkle with coconut and almonds. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

A MID WINTER'S CHERRY CRANBERRY TRIFLE

Steps:

• Combine Eagle Brand and water. Add pudding mix; beat about 2 minutes. Chill until just thickened, about 15 minutes. Fold in whipped topping.
• Spoon 1/3 of the pudding mixture into 3L: serving bowl; top with half of the cake cubes. Top with half of the pie filling and 1/3 of the pudding mixture. Repeat with remaining cake cubes, pie filling and pudding mixture.
• Cover and chill overnight.