Kitchen Dreaming

Strawberry Shortcake Trifle

Among many other things, I inherited my Mom's trifle dish when she passed away. When I unpacked it, I put on display in my Kitchen and there it has sat on display unused... for almost 5 years!! I look at it a lot and think "someday, I am going to make something just so I can use that dish." Today was that day!

Having no real trifle recipes in my index, I improvised a bit and just made a strawberry shortcake. My kids were so impressed. Layering the shortcake into this dish elevated it from something ordinary into something elegantly "awesome." My kids just couldn't get enough of it. I will admit that seeing it layered into this dish was pretty impressive- and beautiful. Funny that one specialty dish, some time and patience can produce such an easy but beautiful presentation that leaves folks asking for more. Enjoy!




Ingredients:

1 large angel food cake, store bought or homemade
1 large container frozen whipped topping, thawed

For the glaze:

1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons strawberry gelatin
1 cup water
1 quart fresh strawberries, quartered

Directions:

For the cake:
Slice cake, using a serrated knife, horizontally into 2 or 3 equal layers, depending on your dish size.

For the glaze:
In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar, cornstarch, and gelatin; add water. Cook stirring over medium heat until thick. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Gently fold in the strawberries.

For assembly:

Place 1 layer of cake into the bottom of the trifle dish or large bowl. My trifle dish is small so I cut my cake and pieced it in, filling in any gaps with smaller pieces of cake.

Next, top with a layer of strawberry mixture and then top with a layer of whipped cream. Repeat the layers until you reach the top of the dish. Top cake with fresh sliced strawberries for garnish.

I actually made this a day in advance and this gave it time to "set-up" and it was really good. If you make it ahead, garnish right before serving.