Nothing Trifle About it!

On Sunday we had a few family members(there were 9 of us) over for a BBQ since my dad was here visiting. For dessert I made a trifle:) I really wanted to use this bowl! (I had hosted a Pampered Chef party last fall and I chose this trifle bowl as one of my free gifts, but hadn't used it yet.) The trifle was relatively easy to put together and when everyone left there was not one bit of it remaining:) It was very luscious! I LOVED JUST LOOKING AT IT:)

I didn't really follow any one recipe. I just looked at a few trifle recipes and realized that the common ingredients are cake/cookie, whipped cream, fruit and sometimes pudding/syrup. The ingredients are layered for a beautiful effect in a glass bowl:)

Here's My simple version of TRIFLE...

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound cake, cubed -I used a cream cheese version (I had previously made 2 of these cakes, froze 1, but only used 1/2 of one for this recipe). I found the recipe for the bundt cake on the Smitten Kitchen blog and the recipe is included in this post:)

3 cups of fresh raspberries

6 good-sized peaches (peeled and cubed)
( combine all fruit(raspberries and peaches) in a bowl and mix with 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar)

whipped cream mixture: 3 cups heavy whipping cream, 8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature, 1 cup of powdered sugar. Mix the cream on electric mixture until peaks form and then add cream cheese and powdered sugar until well incorporated-yum!

ASSEMBLY:
1. Layer 1/3 of the cubed cake in the bottom of the trifle bowl. 2. Spoon 1/3 of the fruit mixture over the cake. 3. Spoon 1/3 of the whipped cream mixture over the fruit. 4. Repeat the layering 2 more times and save a bit of fruit for a garnish on top! ENJOY!

This is a simple, delicious, beautiful dessert!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Adapted liberally from Staff Meals from Chanterelle

The cream cheese doesn’t so much change the flavor profile but adds a bit more depth of flavor and an amazing crackly edge.

If you’re baking this pound cake in advance, as opposed to the day you are serving it, a little basting will go a long way towards keep it (or any other pound cake) moist. You can use a simple syrup (one part sugar dissolved in an equal amount of water), up the water in it if you’re concerned it will be too sweet and/or add a teaspoon of your flavoring of choice to it.

Serves (at least) 10

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 package (8 ounces) Philadelphia brand cream cheese*, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract plus 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (original recipe calls for 2 teaspoons vanilla but I liked this mix better)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly butter a 10-inch tube pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper. Alternately, you can use a 12-cup bundt pan, and simply butter and flour it.

2. Place the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar, increase the speed to high, and beat until light and airy, at least five minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the vanilla, almond, then the flour and salt all at once. Beat just until incorporated.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and shake lightly to even out the top. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, 1 1/4 hours.

4. Place the pan on a cake rack and cool for 20 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

* Philadelphia cream cheese is often recommended for baking for consistency purposes, as in, bakers know this brand works, and because it contains less water than other brands.

Variations: I think this cake would be fantastic with a cup of chopped white chocolate stirred into the batter (an idea I got from this lovely lady) and/or some orange zest. Or grapefruit zest. Or whole raspberries, if you can find good ones in season. Or have fun with it. A good pound cake is infinitely adaptable, and I would like to try them all.

Smaller cakes: A bundt-volume cake often can be used to make two 8 1/2-by-4 1/4-by-2 1/2-inch loaf cakes, however (caveat!) I have not tested this recipe in loaf pans. I just wanted to throw that out there for those of you feeling adventurous, or interested in a reduced volume of cake.