Paula Dean's Raspberry-Sherry Trifle

This is a recipe from Paula's show way back in 2006, and I love it. I made it a long time ago, saw it on a re-run today and figured I'd give it another go. What I love about this recipe is that you can swap out the raspberries for whatever fruit you like: passion fruit, strawberries, mangos, blueberries -- endless possibilities. Here we go:


Ingredients:

• 1 18.5 oz pack of cake mix (recommended: Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Butter Recipe Gold)
• 1 1/2 cups dry sherry (don't use cooking sherry!
• 7 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 3 12 oz packs of frozen, sweetened raspberries, thawed
• Whipped cream
• Fresh raspberries
• Mint leaves to decorate (optional)

Process:

1) Grease and flour a 13 x 9" baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

2) Prepare the cake according to package directions, but use 1/2 cup of the sherry in place of the 1/2 cup water. As Paula says, "If ya can't drink the Sherry straight from a glass, then don't cook with it!" When baked, let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Meanwhile,  make your custard.

3) Place the egg yolks, granulated sugar, and remaining 1 cup sherry into the top of a double boiler. If you've never heard of this, don't worry. It's simple! Just place this all in a glass bowl and mix until combined. Then put the mix over a pot of boiling water -- just don't let the water touch the glass bowl!  With a wooden spoon, stir over medium heat for about 8 minutes, until the custard is quite thick, about the consistency of mayonnaise. Remove from stove and  let cool for 5 minutes. Refrigerate. Then:

4) Whip the heavy cream with the confectioners' sugar in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. (I would really use an electric mixer for this -- unless you want to skip the gym that day). Take half of the whipped cream and fold it into the custard with a spatula. It makes your custard light.

5) Get your cake and cut or tear it into 1" cubes.

6) Now, make it pretty and assemble: In the bottom of a trifle bowl, layer 1/3 of the cake cubes, 1/3 of the raspberries, and 1/3 of the custard. Continue layering, ending with custard. Take the remaining whipped cream and completely cover the top of the custard. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Serve with additional whipped cream, fresh raspberries and a sprig of mint, if desired.

Grub on,

--Chels