Orange & Almond Trifle
I grew up eating trifles in honor of every Christmas, birthday, and special occasion. They’re one of the most nostalgic desserts for me and still one of my favorites. Use your best glassware for this beautiful recipe. A martini glass works great or, a footed ice cream bowl is perfect too. Trifles are super simple to make, can and should be made well ahead, and can be adapted to whatever seasonal ingredients you have on hand. The recipe below uses oranges and almonds to celebrate all the beautiful citrus in season now. But, use summer berries when available, stone fruits like peaches or cherries, or even strawberries and rhubarb. You get the idea, trifle is endlessly adaptable. I hope you’ll make this recipe now and often! Enjoy!
Yields - 4 servings
Cook Time - 10 minutes
Ingredients
2 slices store-bought or homemade gluten free pound cake (lemon, vanilla, or almond)
1 orange, zest and juice
1/2 lemon, zest and juice
1.75 oz/ 1/4 cup granulated sugar
8 oz/ 1 cup heavy cream
2 TB Grand Marnier
4 TB slivered almonds, toasted, for serving
Method
To make the cream, grate the rind from the orange and 1/2 lemon and squeeze the juice from the orange. Mix the rinds, juice and sugar, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add half the orange and sugar mixture to the cream and whip in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until it starts to thicken. Gradually whisk in the remaining juice, making sure that the cream is only at the 'soft peak' stage.
Cut the pound cake into 3/4-inch cubes and layer into the bases of the 4 small glasses. Drizzle cake with the Grand Marnier, about 2tsp per glass. Fill the glasses with the cream mixture and chill for at least 3 hours. To serve, decorate with toasted almonds.
