Every time I want to make an easy dessert for a fancy dinner I immediately think of some sort of meringue pavlova or trifle. I get excited because in my mind, it takes almost zero hands-on time to make meringues and throw some fruit on. But then every time, without fail, I realize I don’t have time to let the meringues dry out.

In the south where the humidity in the kitchen is often almost as bad as it is outside, I almost never attempt to make them outside of Winter. I usually buy them from the store. They’re still beautiful and impressive looking, and you don’t have to reserve your oven for hours on end.

Individual trifles or anything with meringues will fancy up any dessert tray. I made these while I was in England because they sell custard in the grocery stores. It’s probably a good thing US stores don’t sell pre-made custard because I honestly would eat it on everything. It’s deliciously rich on its own, and mixed with the cream cheese it gets a smooth cream cheese flavor as well. If you live in England and can buy pre-made custard, this recipe is a breeze. Not to fear for those everywhere else though, you can make homemade custard which is also delicious. If you're really pressed for time, you can sacrifice a bit of the flavor (though it will still be great) and make it with instant vanilla pudding.

The original recipe calls for raspberries and Cointreau. A true trifle is made with Cointreau, but if you want to leave it out that’s fine. You can also sub in sliced strawberries for the raspberries. I prefer raspberries, but the pictures show the strawberry ones I made. As for whether to use meringue nests, like I've shown in the pictures, or glasses with a more traditional trifle look, that's up to you. Individual glasses allows you to add more custard and it's likely the cheaper option. I think Nests are just as pretty and are easier to serve if you're short on glasses. I doubled the recipe both times I made these because I was feeding a crowd. I used glasses once and nests once.

At the end of the day, this is really me suggesting that you all give trifle-making a try when you want to impress people. I’ve had them with custard, ice cream, cool whip, homemade whipped cream, etc. The layering piece is up to you, but I strongly suggest this custard because it is heavenly!

Enjoy!

Strawberry or Raspberry Meringue Trifle
Recipe slightly adapted from Taste AU

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups-2 cups Raspberries (2 x 125g punnets raspberries)
• 2 tbs Cointreau liqueur (optional)
• 55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
• 8-ounces cream cheese (250g)at room temperature
• 1 cup (250ml) bought vanilla custard* 
• Meringues, coarsely crushed

* If you live in places, like the US, that do not sell custard in grocery stores, you can do one of two things. The ideal thing is to make homemade custard. I've included a recipe below. If you're not up for this, follow the direction on a box of Instant Vanilla pudding. Once pudding is ready and chilled, proceed to the cream cheese step.

Directions:

1. Combine the raspberries, Cointreau and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a bowl. Set aside for 30 minutes to macerate.
2. Step 2
   Meanwhile, use an electric beater to beat the cream cheese, custard and remaining sugar in a bowl until smooth.
3. Step 3
   Divide three-quarters of the raspberry mixture among six 250ml (1-cup) capacity serving glasses. Top with the cream cheese mixture and meringue. Top with the remaining raspberry mixture. 
   If you are making meringue nests instead of trifles, fill each nest with a teaspoon of raspberry mixture (depending on the size of the nest). Next, add 2+ teaspoons custard mixture, making sure the custard incorporates into the raspberries. Think of it like making sure the ice cream gets to the bottom of an ice cream cone. Top each nest with another teaspoon or two of berries. Sprinkle crushed meringues on top for decoration.

Jamie Oliver's Proper English Custard
Recipe from Jamie Oliver (on My Kitchen from Scratch)

Ingredients (yields about 8 cups/2 L)

• 2 cups (500 ml) whole milk
• 2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
• 6 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, scored lengthways
• 8 large egg yolks

Method:

1. Mix cream, milk, and four tablespoons of sugar in a pot under medium low heat.
2. Scrap out all the seeds in the vanilla bean into the pot. Put the beans in the pot as well. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon until it boils and then turn off the heat. Let it sit for a few minutes to let the vanilla infuse with the cream and milk mixture.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks with 2 tablespoons of sugar until pale yellow in colour.
4. Remove the beans from the pot and slowly add one ladle of the cream mixture to the yolks while whisking them together. Keep whisking and slowly add a couple more ladles. This process is called tempering and this will ensure that the eggs won’t curdle when they come in contact with hot liquids.
5. Pour the yolk mixture back to the pot with cream and milk and stir with a wooden spoon under medium heat. As the eggs cook, the custard will thicken in several minutes. It is thick enough if it coats the back of the wooden spoon. When it’s nice and shiny, remove from heat and pour into a serving cup. You can serve it hot or cold.

 

My sister-in-law took this picture of the trifle in glasses. All we had on hand for 12 people were wine glasses, so we made those work.

First off, let me start by explaining my extremely long absence from blogging. It's been over a month since my last post, but I'm back! There were a few factors that led to my break. For the most part, they were all out of my control, nonetheless it's been way too long. The first problem was that my camera was stolen over Easter break (and really, what's a food blog without pictures?). So, even though I was still baking all the time I didn't post anything. The second was a random computer crash that deleted all of my food blog bookmarks. Two years worth of bookmarked recipes all gone. Bummer. And the third was that I literally haven't even had time to breathe I've been so busy recently. But, hey, that's life.
I still don't have a camera, but I've been able to borrow one to take pictures recently. Point of everything is, I'm going to get back on my regular posting schedule and sorry for the long break!
Now to the food. It's strawberry season and with the masses of fresh strawberries appearing at the stores and farmers' markets I figured I had to start the season off right. I've seen a million and one posts with strawberry shortcakes, tarts, scones, etc. This recipe is a little different, though, and I really liked it. The vanilla bean custard in the middle of these cupcakes is so good I could eat it plain. Luckily, it also complements the angel food cake and strawberries wonderfully so I held back on that impulse. Even though box cake mix makes these cupcakes not quite so homemade, you can't deny that boxed mixes are great. It also makes the recipe pretty simple. The only negative is that these cupcakes don't last very long at all (I'd say two days maximum). After that they're still good, but the custard soaks into the cupcakes and you have to eat them with a spoon. So make these, but eat them quick! This shouldn't be a problem.

Vanilla-Stuffed Strawberry Cupcakes
Recipe from Southern Living April 2010
Makes 2 dozen, Hands on Time: 30 minutes
Cupcakes will rise over baking cup edges. Use a paring knife to gently loosen from pan.

Vanilla Bean Custard (see below)
24 paper baking cups
1 (16 oz) package angel food cake mix*
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups halved fresh strawberries

*Southern Living says they used Duncan Hines and that worked best. I used Betty Crocker and I think the cupcakes themselves could've been better so I'd try Duncan Hines.

1. Prepare Vanilla Bean Custard.
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place baking cups in 2 (12 cup) muffin pans. Do not grease. Prepare angel food cake batter according to package directions using a paddle attachment (I'm sure a hand mixer would work fine too). Stir in vanilla extract. Spoon batter into baking cups, filling completely full.
3. Bake at 325 degrees on middle oven rack 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes.
4. Gently run a knife around edges of cupcakes to loosen. Remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 20 minutes).
5. Scoop out centers of cupcakes, leaving a 1/2-inch border on the bottom and sides. Spoon or pipe vanilla bean custard into centers of cupcakes. Top with strawberries. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Garnish if desired.

Vanilla Bean Custard
Recipe from Southern Living

2 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla exract

1/ Whisk together first 4 ingredients in a heavy 3-qt saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla extract. Cover and chill for 3 hours.