Today I am going to share a very nice crowd pleasing recipe which you can prepare a day in advance for the big dinner. It has several steps so it can be broken down into phases. It has lemon pound cake, lemon curd, strawberries, whipped cream and candied lemon slices.
LEMON POUND CAKE
For Pound cake, you can use any of the recipes I posted before here and here. In the first one, you might want to add some lemon zest and couple of tablespoons of lemon juice. Or if you are tight on time, you can use any purchase any prepared ones.
When its at room temperature, cut it into thick slices. If not using right away, wrap and put it in air tight box.
SIMPLE SUGAR SYRUP
For soaking the cake, you will need a simple sugar syrup in the ratio of 1:2 (sugar:water), Boil both of them until sugar dissolves, cook and store in a bottle. You can also use a mild juice like pineapple.
CANDIED LEMON PEEL
They are very easy to prepare and extremely pleasant to eyes, not to mention looks quite impressive and professional. You can go to Marth Stewarts’ website to get the recipe here.
WHIPPED CREAM
Whip around 1.5/2 cups of cream with around 1/2 cup of icing sugar and a few drop of vanilla essence. Make sure you follow the basic rules of whipping the cream that is to chill the bowl, beater blades and cream. Whip till fluffy and double in volume. Do not overbeat else it will curdle.
STRAWBERRIES
Use fresh strawberries preferably as I find frozen/tinned ones too soggy. Wash, hull and cut them into halves, bigger ones into quarters. Put them in a strainer and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar to drain off excess liquid. I used around 1 cup of strawberries but then any amount you fancy will be fine. That is the beauty of the trifle.
LEMON CURD
Beware, this is a very tangy curd and if you wish, you can use 3 lemons instead of 4. I will be doing that next time.
Ingredients
Egg yolks 6 large
Sugar 1 cup
3-4 lemons, zested and juiced
Butter 1/2 cup
Method
To make the lemon curd: Bring a pot of water to a simmer over medium-low heat. Combine the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a metal or glass heat-resistant bowl and whisk until smooth. Set the bowl over the simmering water, without letting the bottom touch, and continue to whisk. Keep working-out that arm and whisk it vigorously for a good 10 minutes, until the curd has doubled in volume and is very thick and yellow. Don’t let it boil. Remove the bowl from heat and whisk in the butter, a couple of chunks at a time, until melted. Refrigerate until the custard is cold and firm.
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/lemon-curd-trifle-with-fresh-berries-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback
ASSEMBLING
1. Take a Trifle bowl or any big transparent bowl so that the layers are visible.
2. Place a layer of sliced pound cake.
3. Brush them with simple sugar syrup.
4. Spoon a layer of Lemon curd.
5. Top with strawberries.
6. Smooth whipped cream with a spatula.
7. Repeat steps 2-6.
8. Decorate it with candied lemon slices.
Leave a Reply