Traditional English Trifle (Without Peas, Beef, or Onions)

My sister made this amazing and beautiful trifle for Easter dessert. I only ended up having a little bit of it because we had many, many other treats. Including these slightly scary looking Rice Krispie bunnies:



Provided you have a properly tall, cylindrical dish for putting this trifle together there isn't a very specific recipe for it. The layers are comprised of homemade pound cake (I suggest Ezra Poundcake's Sunshine Poundcake without the glaze), whipped cream, various fresh berries and bananas, raspberry jam, and English custard (recipe follows). Top with silvered almonds.

Vanilla English Custard for Trifle
2 2/3 cups milk
1 1/3 cups double cream (heavy whipping cream)
5 free range egg yolks
4 1/2 ounces caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped OR 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Put the milk and cream in a saucepan and bring slowly to the boil. Meanwhile whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy. As soon as the milk and cream mixture comes to the boil, pour onto the egg mixture and beat well.

Return to the pan and place over a very gentle heat (or in a basin over a pan of simmering water) and stir continuously until the custard has thickened. Allow this mixture to cool prior to layering over the pound cake and jam.

On a side note, I made this Roasted Vegetable Torte for a potluck last week and had about half of it leftover. I plopped all of it into a pan and heated through with chicken stock. Then I pulsed in a couple of times in the food processor, added Italian sausage and olives and let it simmer until it was a nice thick ragout. It was lovely over spaghetti.

Feasts of Christmas: Fennel Gratin and Larson's Kringler

I had a lot to be thankful for and happy about this Christmas.

My brother and his fiancee were home from Nashville. The crazy snowstorm kept my sister's family in town so we had all the little kids with us on Christmas Eve. My dad drew me for gift exchange this year and gave me this amazing collection of herbs and spices - many from his own garden - and a handmade rack that my niece kept calling my "spice ladder." But one of my very favorite parts of my holiday came on Christmas Eve morning when it was just me and some food.

First I got started making Rachel Larson's famed Almond Kringler. It's a three layer job but it's actually very quick to put together and everyone loves it.

Layer One: Shortbread-like crust. Layer Two: Fluffy, eggy, baked custard-y filling.


Layer Three: Simple icing and sprinkle of sliced almonds.


In honor of my friend Siri I baked this whilst listening to Ella's Swingin' Christmas.

Find the full recipe at The Transplanted Baker.

Next, I turned my thoughts to my loving, vegetarian sister. I knew our Christmas spread would be sausage heavy and thought she should not miss out on having something indulgent just because she doesn't groove on the meats. So I sliced up some potatoes and simmered vegetable stock, a bit of heavy cream, and two whole cloves of garlic:


And got to some more layerin'


Potatoes, leeks, and fennel with pecorino romano, the stock/cream mixture and breadcrumbs. I don't think I need to tell you it was delicious.


Fennel Gratin - makes one 9 x 13 pan

Simmer in a heavy pot over low heat:
1 can (12 oz or a little less) vegetable stock
1/2 cup half & half, heavy cream, or 2% milk
Pinch of nutmeg
Fresh black pepper
Two peeled whole cloves of garlic (discard when you remove mixture from heat)

Prepare:
6 large yukon gold or large red potatoes, peeled
1 large leek, cleaned and chopped
1 large bulb of fennel, quartered and sliced
Keep some fennel fronds for garnish

Grate:
Heaping cup of pecorino romano cheese

In a buttered 9 x 13 baking dish layer potatoes (salt and pepper them), then fennel, and sprinkle with leeks. Cover with half of the cream mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat layering and finish with cheese and a handful of breadcrumbs.

Bake covered with foil at 375 for about 45 minutes. Liquid should be nearly completely absorbed. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. Garnish with fennel fronds.

To be continued...with Ginger-Beet soup.