Strawberry Cake Trifle with Mixed Berry Compote & Strawberry Frosting

I'm on a bit of a trifle kick these days.  Maybe because they are super easy to put together and taste (and look!) better than any ol' sheet cake.

This trifle was prepared for a baby shower for my dear friend Kristin.  Not only is she my son's soon-to-be Godmother but she's one of the most amazing mom's I know.  I think she was one of the main reasons I stayed sane throughout my pregnancy.  She's beyond informed, down to earth, entertaining as hell, and the closest thing I have to a sister.

Now, because this trifle was for a baby shower I had to omit any booze in the cake.  However, from experience when making a trifle it's mandatory to add alcohol to the cake.  I am not saying this because I am a drunk or anything.  As if.  Well, sort of.  No, really the alcohol deepens the richness of the cake.  It helps the cake stand apart in the layers of custardy heaven.

So if you're planning to make this trifle for non-pregger-people, I suggest adding something like Tequila Rose Strawberry Liqueur  or maybe Irish Cream to the cake prior to assembly. 

First you need to poke the cake thoroughly all over with a fork (after it's cooled completely and still in the pan).  Next, slowly drizzle the 1 cup of alcohol over the cake evenly.  Let it sit overnight in the refrigerator to marinate and get tipspy. 

One last note, this recipe makes a pretty large quantity, in fact I made 2 trifles out of it.  However it depends on the size of your dish.  If you end up with leftovers like I did, layer then up in a plastic container and freeze it (I'm the Queen of freezing fyi) or give it to someone who you think is sweet.


Strawberry Cake Trifle with Mixed Berry Compote & Strawberry Frosting
For a printable version click here

For the Strawberry Puree
Ingredients:
1 bag frozen strawberries (anything around 12-15oz. should be fine.  More or less won't matter one bit)

For the cake
Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups sugar
1 package strawberry Jello (4-serving size)
1 cup butter (8 oz.) softened
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup pureed strawberries (I used frozen strawberries, thawed on the counter then pureed in food processor, fresh would be fine too)

For the Strawberry Whipped Frosting
Ingredients:
3 sticks PLUS two Tablespoons (13 oz./375 g) unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
4 cups (18 oz./500 g) powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons strawberry puree

For the Mixed Berry Compote
Ingredients:
1 bag frozen mixed berries (15 oz.)
1/2 cup brown sugar

1 package vanilla or cheesecake flavor Jello pudding, prepared as indicated on the box (4-serving size)

1 tub Cool Whip

Handful of fresh strawberries for garnish

Directions

To prepare the strawberry puree, place frozen strawberries on the counter to thaw (in the bag or on a plate, doesn't matter too much).  Mine took about an hour to thaw.  Once thawed, place in food processor and puree until smooth. 

Measure out 1/2 cup of the puree for the cake and set aside.  Measure out 3 tablespoons for the frosting and set aside.  The remaining puree will be added to the compote once it's cooled.

To prepare the cake, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease and flour a 9x13 cake pan with butter or vegetable shortening and set aside (I used non-stick spray only and it worked fine).

Sift the flour and baking soda into a medium bowl.  Whisk to combine.

Beat sugar, jello (dry) and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then beat on medium-high about 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally, until fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.  Beat in flour mixture and milk alternately on low speed.  Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla and the pureed strawberries.  Pour into pan and bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare the strawberry frosting, place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter for 8 minutes on medium speed (# 4 on the KitchenAid).  Butter will become very pale & creamy. 

Add remaining ingredients, except strawberry puree, and mix on low speed for 1 minute, then on medium speed for 6 minutes. Frosting will be very light, creamy, and fluffy.  Add strawberry puree and mix until incorporated.

To prepare the mixed berry compote, place frozen berries in a medium saucepan.  Heat on medium until berries are thawed and juices start to bubble.  Add brown sugar and stir to combine. 

Continue cooking on low-medium heat until juices thicken, about 10 minutes.

Let compote cool completely and add to remaining strawberry puree, stir to combine.

To assemble the trifle, place a layer of cake on the bottom of your trifle dish.  You can cut it into squares or gently crumble, either technique works.  Cover cake layer with HALF of the berry compote/strawberry puree mixture.

Be sure to spread it well to the edges so all the layers will be visible.

 

Add HALF of the pudding and spread evenly.

Cover with another layer of cake and the remaining compote mixture.

Next spread a generous layer of the whipped frosting.

And the remaining pudding.

Top with a heaping dollop of Cool Whip and a handful of whole fresh strawberries...dig in!

 Strawberry cake recipe courtesy of Gold Medal Flour

Strawberry Frosting courtesy of Sweetapolita

Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Filling & Malted Chocolate Ganache

Happy early Easter!  I've got my son's first birthday around the corner so I thought I better hurry up and post an Easter treat for everyone while I still have my head on straight.

Just a heads up, I'll be making him a Cookie Monster Cake, C is for Cookie and don't you forget it.

But before we get into the world of cake decorating, let's talk malted milk balls aka Whoppers.

Oh God I have never been a fan of Whoppers.  Whoppers or Circus Peanuts.  Remember those orange, rubbery, why-the-hell-do-I-waste-my-calories on these horrible little door stops?  Ick.  So why am I making Malted Milk Cupcakes with Malted Milk Ganache?  Because they turned out DAMN good that's why!  And my husband likes these candies, so this is just a little love for him. 

Just a note, if you're here in the middle east or in Europe, you'll know Whoppers by their alter ego, the Malteser.  However I did find Whoppers at the Hershey's store in Dubai Mall.  During Easter time they're colored to look like Robin's Eggs:

Additionally this recipe calls for malted milk power.  If you're in the US you can find malted milk in the coffee isle along side the creamers and hot chocolate (Carnation brand).  Here in Dubai, ooh it was not that easy.  Those closest thing I could find was something called Horlicks:

I tried a bit before hand and it tasted exactly like the inside of a malted milk ball, so I assumed this would work.  Yum it did.

The texture the malted milk provided the cupcake was really quite interesting.  It was spongy yet still dense.  Like a happy marriage of a cookie and cake.  Fill 'em up with salted caramel and you've got yourself an Easter treat fit for any-bunny...hardy-har-har.

Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Filling & Malted Chocolate Ganache

for a printable version click here

For the cupcakes

Ingredients:
3/4 cup malted milk powder (or Horlicks)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Robin Eggs (Whoppers) or Maltesers for garnish

For the Salted Caramel

Click here for the recipe and directions.  You can also leave the caramel out if you prefer, the cupcakes will still be awesome.  But who doesn't like caramel?

For the Malted Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:
4.5 oz. (128 g) chopped chocolate (I used a mix of dark and milk, but it's your preference)
1/2 cup (218 ml) heavy cream
3 tablespoons malted milk powder (or Horlicks)

For the Dyed Coconut
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened kind is ok)
1 teaspoon water
green food coloring (I used Wilton's Gel food coloring)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line 2 muffin tins with paper liners (I used a mini-muffin tin) and then spray the liners with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl sift together the malted milk, brown sugar, flour, salt, and baking power.  Whisk to combine.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.  It looks like Easter already! 

Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add the wet ingredients.  Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.

Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.

If you are using a regular muffin tin, use a cookie scoop to portion out the batter into the liners.  Since I used a mini-tin I had to use a melon baller which worked perfect.  I'd say it was about 2 teaspoons per cupcake.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

 

 

Move to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the colored grass,  place the coconut in a zip-lock bag.  Combine water and food coloring in a small bowl, stir till gel is diluted.  The amount of food coloring depends on the intensity of color you want to achieve.  Pour colored water into the bag of coconut and shake till thoroughly coated. 

If you prefer to not fill the cupcakes you can skip this part.

You may have your own way to fill a cupcake, but I found this trick pretty handy.  Take a piping tip and gently cut into the top of cupcake.

Pull out the cut piece.  Don't eat it, I know it's difficult.  Stick the piping tip back inside and dig out some more of the cupcake.  This part you can eat. 

Fill the hole with the salted caramel (I used a piping bag but a zip lock bag with the corner cut off will work fine too).

Stick the top back on.  If some of the caramel oozes out, wipe with a damp paper towel.  As you go along you'll know when to stop filling so this won't happen.  Took me about a dozen tries.  Refrigerate for a few hours so the caramel hardens up.  I found this step pretty necessary so the ganache goes on easy. 

To prepare the ganache, chop up your chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl.

In a small saucepan, whisk heavy cream and malted milk together.  Bring to a gentle boil, whisking to make sure all the malt powder dissolves completely.  Pour hot malted cream over the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes.

Whisk until smooth.

I found the best way to cover the cupcake with the ganache was to dip it directly into the chocolate.  Swirl around slowly to make sure the top is evenly coated.

At this point you could leave the cupcakes as-is.  They are pretty sexy and elegant looking, but come on it's Easter.  We need fake grass and chocolate. 

Give a sprinkle of coconut to the ganache.  You'll want to do this immediately before the ganache sets.  I dipped the Robin Egg in the ganache (just a touch on the bottom) so it would stick well to the top of the cupcake.

Happy Easter Everyone, God Bless!

Cupcake recipe courtesy of The Purple Spoon

Salted Caramel courtesy of Erin's Food Files

Ganache recipe courtesy of Bakingdom

Death by Chocolate Trifle

Trifle's are my new BFF.  They are so easy going.  You can add anything you love or anything that's left over in the pantry to a trifle and you can pretty much guarantee it's going to be awesome.  I don't even use a recipe when I plan on making one.  I just go shopping and see what looks tempting in the cookie and candy isle...or as I am calling it lately...the office.

Also, they just look great, don't they?  They have the same taste as any cake but without the stress of having to frost one.  Not going to lie, that is my favorite part. 

This trifle here was made for my dear friend Zoe on her birthday.  Happy Birthday Zoe!  No cool-whip here for my British mate, this is fresh, home-made whipped cream on top...but don't worry I haven't forgotten where I come from, I used Jello Chocolate pudding on the inside...tee-hee-hee. 

The recipe below can easily be adapted.  Don't limit yourself to just cake when making a trifle. You could easily use brownies or maybe cookies dipped in booze, almost like a tiramisu effect.  You can swap out the pudding for ice cream, cool whip, whipped cream, whatever.  If you don't want to use candy, use cookies or nuts.  If you want to make a lighter version, use angel food cake and fresh berries with whipped cream.  The possibilities are endless, have fun!


Death by Chocolate
*for a printable version click here

Ingredients

For the Trifle:
1 chocolate cake, baked and cool.  If you need a recipe, this is my go-to chocolate cake that can be thrown together in a snap
1 cup Bailey's Irish Cream (or you can use Kahlua, Godiva Liqueur, or something similar)
1 package (3.9 oz/4 1/2 cup) Jello Brand Chocolate instant pudding, prepared as per the directions on the box
1 package Dark Chocolate Tim-Tam cookies, chopped into bite sized pieces (or Oreo's, chocolate chip, ANYTHING!)
6 Mars bars, chopped into bite sized pieces (or Snickers, Milky Way, or anything you LOVE)
Hershey's Syrup

For the mocha whipped cream
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (be sure to sift to avoid lumps!) 
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon instant espresso (not espresso grounds!)

To prepare the whipped cream, combine ALL ingredients into the bowl of a stand-up mixer.  Beat on high until peaks form.  Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Directions:

Once the cake has completely cooled, poke entire cake with a fork, all over.  Using a pastry brush cover entire cake with the Bailey's.  I ended up pouring it on SLOWLY since it would have taken forever just brushing it on.  Do use your pastry brush to spread the Bailey's out evenly.

Let the Bailey's soak in the cake at least over night in the refrigerator.  You want it good and drunk.

Take your bottle of Hershey's syrup and give the bottom of yout trifle dish a good squirt.  Think of the syrup here as glue.  Yummy, edible, glue.

Next cut up the cake half-hazardly and using a spatula (I have a small cookie-size spatula that works wonders here) transfer it in into the bottom of the trifle dish.  Using the bottom of the spatula gently compact the cake.  It will be gooey don't worry, that is just from the booze.

Just a side note here: if you get a smudgin' of cake or pudding on the side of the glass, try to wipe it off with a damp paper towel.  You're using a glass dish so every spot is going to show...really like anyone cares, they'll just want to eat it, but still.

Spoon HALF of the pudding onto the cake and spread evenly.

Sprinkle on some of the chopped cookies in an even layer.  You could also mix the cookies and candy if you wish.

Then a good drizzle of Hershey's syrup.

Another layer or cake.

Cover with remaining pudding.

Sprinkle on the chopped Mars Bars and another healthy squeeze of chocolate syrup.

Another layer of cake.

Another sprinkle of the cookies and Mars Bars with a squeeze of syrup.  If you have a large trifle dish you could have added another layer of pudding on the cake but mine isn't that deep.  Such a pity.

Add a generous dollop of the mocha whipped cream to the top.  I usually don't spread the whipped cream to the edges.  You want to show off all that yummy yummy madness creeping out underneath.  Add a sprinkling of cookies/candy to the top and refrigerate for at least an hour to let everyone marinate.

Dig in and enjoy!