Creole Christmas Trifle Food

CHRISTMAS TRIFLE

Steps:

• In a food processor, puree 1 pint of raspberries and strain through a fine mesh sieve, discarding the pulp.
• Whip heavy cream and slowly add sugar until the cream is silken. Add vanilla extract and raspberry puree and continue whipping, just until combined and soft peaks form.
• Layer half of the pound cake in the bottom of a large trifle dish. Spread half of the lemon curd over the pound cake. Top the lemon curd with half of the peaches and one pint of raspberries. Dollop half of the whipped cream over the fruit and spread gently.
• Repeat layers, reserving a few peaches and raspberries for garnish. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

RUSSIAN CAKE (CREOLE TRIFLE

Steps:

• Mix rum, anise, jam and (optionally) the food color with a wire whisk until everything is well integrated; the alcohol in the rum helps dissolve the jam quickly so it shouldn't be more than 30 seconds.
• Pour evenly over your cake pieces and place bowl in fridge for a few hours or overnight (covered). The more cake pieces you use for the inside, the denser and heavier the cake will be. The Russian cakes I remember weighed several pounds and seemed very heavy for their size.
• When ready to assemble cake, bake your boxed cake according to instructions in a 9-inch cake pan. When cool split the cake evenly down the middle. Place one half in a 9-inch springform pan (one used for cheesecakes) and "fill" with your soaked cake pieces. Try to get this even as possible.
• Place top layer over "filling" and cover with plastic wrap, the plastic touching the top of the cake. I placed my cleaned cake pan over the top of this and weighed it down with jars from the fridge. The reason I did this was to make sure that the cake was flat, number one, but also I wanted some of the "juice" from the middle to seep into the top and bottom layer, thereby binding the cake together.
• Place in fridge overnight (make sure it's covered). The next day, frost the top and cover with sprinkles.