Strawberry Holiday Trifle

We had a large group out here a few weeks ago when our little baby Jude was blessed at Church. I asked my friend Natalie for a suggestion on what I should make for dessert. She suggested her trifle recipe. All I can say is wow. This is probably my new favorite dessert, and I may or may not have eaten a little too much of it. With almost 20 people at our house that day, the only complaint was that they couldn't have seconds.

Strawberry Holiday Trifle
by Perrys' Plate

4 pints strawberries, rinsed, hulled and chopped
3 T. sugar
¾ c. slivered almonds (I didn't have these and it was still great)
Cool whip/homemade whipped cream
¾ c. strawberry wine or equivalent (jam maybe? I left this out)
1 Recipe Custard
1 Recipe Sponge Cake

Chop up berries and combine with sugar. Refrigerate for a couple of hours until they get really juicy. Spoon one cup custard on bottom of trifle bowl. Sprinkle with ¼ c. almonds. Layer ½ of cake cubes over custard; brush cake with ½ of wine. Spoon 2 c. berries over cake layer; top with 1 c. custard. Repeat layers. Top with remaining custard. Cover and chill. Top with cool whip and sprinkle with remaining almonds. Makes 15 servings.

Custard:
2/3 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
¼ t. salt
2 c. milk
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 T. butter/marg.
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. whipping cream, whipped (or Cool Whip)

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt and milk in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Stir about ¼ of mixture into egg yolks; add egg yolk mixture back into saucepan, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 2 min. Remove from heat; add butter and vanilla, stirring until butter melts. Cover with plastic wrap, gently pressing it onto surface; chill at least 2 hours. Fold whipped cream into custard. Makes 3 ½ cups.

Sponge Cake:
2 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
½ c. milk
2 T butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat eggs at high speed with electric mixer 3 min or until thick and pale. Gradually add sugar; beat 4 min. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually fold into batter. Combine milk and butter in saucepan; cook over low heat until butter melts (or zap in the microwave). Gradually stir milk mixture and vanilla into batter. Pour into 2 greased and floured 8” round cake pans. Bake at 350 for 16 min or until toothpick comes clean. Cool on wire racks for 10 min. Remove from pans; cool completely on racks. Cut into 1 in. cubes. (the more cubes you chop up, the easier it is to spread in the nice trifle dish).

Sare's notes:
1. Always make homemade whipped cream. So so so good!
2. Make everything the day/night BEFORE you plan on assembling the trifle. It makes things a lot easier on you because everything needs a few hours to chill and set.
3. This is great for a party. If you make it for a family of 4, don't blame me for your need to do more sit-ups, laps, or squats. I may or may not have made this again, on my husband's birthday this week, and ate it for breakfast and lunch the next day. No wonder my baby is experiencing a dairy sensitivity right now, and I will soon be posting some dairy free recipes.