We were having friends over for dinner...and they were bringing the "main dish" with them, which left me in charge of making dessert. Without needing to spend my afternoon cooking for two armies, I had some time to devote to the grand finale of the meal. So I decided that it would be fun to make Trifle, but with a twist...luscious mini versions. Clear cups made them look, not only beautiful, but made clean-up a cinch! And, oh...they were so good! 
I started my making a homemade vanilla custard for the base. The difference between pudding and custard is that custard has eggs mixed into the base to create a richer texture and flavor. I doubled the recipe I used from: http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/vanillapudding.html to start my dessert. Licking the pan was no burden either. I set it aside to cool while I hulled and slice the large strawberries and pound cake from Costco.
A couple of large boxes of instant vanilla Jello pudding would have worked--but I was wanting the "homemade" flavors of vanilla extract and salty butter in the sweet and creamy pudding. And when you have the time...it is worth the effort!
To assemble: I put two large dollops of pudding in the bottom of each cup and then layered with cubes of pound cake, sliced strawberries, and more pudding. I tapped the bottom of each cup on the counter to move the pudding into the hollows between the cake and berries. I topped each trifle with a shot of real whipped cream and half a strawberry. Easy! Delicious! And definitely worth the stroll down memory lane.
Next time we are going to some variations that are sure to please, like: bananas, chocolate syrup, and pineapple for a Banana Split Trifle; and some strawberry syrup with our fruit. Cake layered with caramel, chocolate, and nuts would be divine as well. I truly think that the possibilities are endless. The Hillbilly Homemaker even has a recipe for Caramel Pudding. That might send this creation out of this world! Enjoy.
No comments:
Post a Comment