Cranberry Trifle

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I want to classify this as a leftover dessert because it is just that in our house. It's made from bits and bobs of other Christmas desserts and the trifle is a last minute effort to see that nothing goes to waste. It is delicious and quite simple to do if you have all the elements at hand. It is, unfortunately, quite involved if you have to start from scratch. Not hard, mind you, just time consuming. To make ours, I used the remains of our orange-flavored Christmas pound cake, homemade cranberry conserve and a Crème Anglaise that had been made for other purposes. I additionally used frozen, thawed mixed berries and real whipped cream to complete the layering of the trifle. I have included recipes for the various elements of this dessert and instructions for its assembly below, but if you would prefer to make a semi-homemade version of the dessert, frozen pound cake, commercial cranberry preserves, a pudding mix and whipped topping can be used. If at all possible, I recommend making your own pudding or Crème Anglaise and using real whipped cream. There is a point at which time saving ingredients become counter productive and produce a dessert that might look gorgeous but have a synthetic flavor. This is one of those desserts. I rarely serve trifle following a meal. I prefer to serve it as a stand alone dessert with coffee later in the evening. I also like to serve this in individual portions, but you can, if you wish, make one large trifle. Here's are the recipes you need to make the trifle from scratch.

Cranberry Trifle...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite adapted from a recipe by Daniel Golden

Ingredients:
1 sponge or pound cake, cut into 1” by 6” pieces
1 recipe Crème Anglaise (or vanilla pudding)
1 recipe cranberry preserves (or commercial preserves)
1 recipe whipped cream (or whipped topping)
32 ounces frozen mixed berries, thawed
2 ounces toasted almonds
½ cup cranberries

Directions:
1) To assemble, begin with a layer of cake. Add a layer of mixed berries. Place cranberry preserves directly on top of berries, followed by a layer of Crème Anglaise. Top with whipped cream and garnish with toasted almonds and sugared cranberries. Yield: 6 to 8 individual trifles or one large trifle.

Recipes for Components

Cranberry Preserves
1 cup orange juice
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups cranberries
28 ounce jar of orange marmalade
1 pinch of ground cloves

Dissolve sugar into orange juice over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients to orange juice mixture and bring to boil, then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. Chill preserves in refrigerator.

Crème Anglaise
9 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups heavy whipping cream
4 teaspoons vanilla

Combine egg yolks and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix until thickened. Heat cream in a medium sauce pan until it begins to bubble slightly. Whisk cream into egg mixture 1/4 cup at a time. Return mixture to sauce pan. Continue to cook over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes or until thickened. Take care to not allow mixture to boil. When thickened, move Crème Anglaise to mixing bowl to cool. Stir, occasionally, as it cools to prevent skin forming on top. Chill. Add vanilla and serve.

Sponge Cake
1 cup flour
6 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

In a small mixing bowl, stir flour with whisk to break it up. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks, half of sugar, and vanilla until thickened. Add flour to top of egg mixture, but do not stir in. In another bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until peaks form. Gently add remaining sugar to egg white mixture. Continue to whip egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture. Transfer batter into a buttered 9” by 12” pan. Bake for 28-30 minutes or until knife can be inserted and removed clean. When cool, cut cake into 1” wide by 6” long strips.

Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla

Beat all ingredients until stiff. Chill whipped cream until ready to use.

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English Trifle with Pears and Cherries - Lindaraxa's Garden
Christmas Pudding Trifle - The English Kitchen
Panettone and Orange Trifle - Alessandra Zecchini
Accidental Chocolate Trifle - Food Loves Writing
Raspberry Trifle - Healthy and Gourmet