I made the following recipe just the other day for a reunion.
It was not only a beautiful addition to the table, but it
was gone before everyone could even ask what it was.
Most beautiful in a clear glass Trifle or other glass dish.
Men even stood and admired it!
Fabulous dessert, easy to make, beautiful, not too spendy at all,
quick preparation:
STRAWBERRY TRIFLE
By popular demand, here is the recipe for Strawberry Trifle,
an alternate to traditional English Trifle.
Often called a dump cake, yet there are many variations for the term.
Typically referred to as a 'Strawberry Trifle' to differentiate this cake from
standard dump cakes that are typically baked with all ingredients combined
This dessert is best when prepared the evening before your event, giving everything
a chance to set up and chill well. While it is not required that one use a Trifle bowl,
it does make for a beautiful presentation. Any container large enough will work
just fine, but glass dishes allow for the layers of colors to be better seen and
appreciated. Trifles are often easily found at larger department stores for as little
as seven dollars. Crystal dishes, of course, are hardly necessary.
Ingredients needed:
1 strawberry or Cherry cake mix (Pillsbury brand Strawberry was used for our dessert)
(cake mix may require vegetable oil, eggs and water)
1 large box Jell-O instant vanilla pudding (will require milk)
1 large tub of whipped topping / Cool Whip
1 can of crushed pineapple - well drained
1 cup chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds
1 can country style cherry pie filling
Bake cake as directed on package in a 13 x 9 pan. Allow it to completely cool.
Open and drain crushed pineapple while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
Cut cake into squares, fitting and squeezing them into place so they form one layer.
Half the cake will be used for each of the two layers needed.
Alterations:
If you have two round cake pans, simply bake the cake, cool, and cut to fit as a one
piece layer in the Trifle dish. The remaining cake from the cutout can be given to hubby
to keep him quiet. ;-)
In brief:
Paying attention to detail, layer half of everything in the bottom of the Trifle dish.
Cake, pudding, cherry pie filling, pineapple, whipped topping and nuts. Repeat.
It is truly that easy.
In detail:
Using a large spoon, scoop and flatten a layer of half the prepared pudding
so it covers the top of the cake. Keep neatness in mind. Next, spoon scoops
of the cherry pie filling (1/2 of the can) on top, being careful not to mix it with
the pudding, but rather you are layering. Sprinkle half the pineapple on top of
the cherry pie filling - you may need to squeeze the pineapple to ensure they
are not soggy. Spread half the whipped topping on, then top with half the nuts.
Repeat these directions for the second half (the top) of the trifle dish. You
may wish to decorate the top with maraschino cherries, coconut, marshmallows,
bananas, change the recipe as you desire.
There are so many ways to make a trifle, so have fun with variation. Try lemon
cake with lemon pudding and pie filling, omitting the pineapple. How about
Pound cake with blueberry pie filling and vanilla pudding? Try Angel Food cake
with peaches. There is no end to what you can try.
Refrigerate overnight for best results. Keep cool, serve chilled.
Enjoy!
Example of what a trifle dish looks like courtesy of Crystal Classics.
