These days, gaining access to a sweet indulgence can be practically effortless: stroll by the local bakery, order it off of a menu, make it out of a boxed mix or just drool over the Pinterest confections while you eat your carrot sticks. Not so today, my cupcake! The work creating Raspberry Trifle Parfaits is easy, but it takes 4 separate recipes. You will be working and stirring and straining and mixing your way to making a sweet treat worthy of all your efforts. You can make individual parfaits and serve them in stemmed glasses (or mason jars), or you can layer the cake cubes, pastry cream, raspberry syrup, liqueurs and whipped cream into a large glass serving bowl for an eye catching addition to any potluck or buffet table.
Have it your way with these basic recipes. If you are pressed for time, I have listed alternatives to making all four of the recipes. Whip up Boston cream pies by filling the sponge cakes with vanilla pastry cream (no orange, no liqueur) and topping the cake with chocolate ganache. Make a strawberry, blackberry or blueberry version of the parfait by varying the fruit in the syrup recipe. To make a fabulous cake, drizzle berry syrup over split halves of the sponge cake. Fill the layers with cut fresh berries and a layer of the vanilla pastry cream. Stack it all up and “frost” the cake with sweetened whipped cream. Chill the cake for an hour, up to overnight and serve thick slices with coffee for breakfast, lunch, or dessert.
To make the Raspberry Trifle Parfaits below, cut the sponge cake into bite sized cubes. Lighten the pastry cream by blending in 1/3 of whipped cream mixture. In stem glasses or mason jars, layer the fruit syrup, cake cubes (sprinkle with additional orange liqueur or cognac if desired), raspberries and whipped cream. Repeat the layers as desired. Serve the parfaits immediately or cover and chill for up to 8 hours before serving. Recipe will make at least 12 large parfaits, one large trifle or a 9 inch filled cake.
Additional Ingredients Needed:
3 pints fresh fruit (or more to your taste)
Orange liqueur, brandy, or spirit of your choosing (optional)
Sponge Cake (or store bought pound, sponge, or angel food cake)
Makes two 9 inch cakes
5 large eggs, room temperature
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
3 Tablespoons butter, plus extra for pans
1 teaspoon vanilla (we used Cognac vanilla)
1 teaspoon orange liqueur (we used Solerno)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9 inch round or square cake pans and set aside. To prepare the cake, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and place in a medium bowl. Set bowl aside. In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. Remove the milk from the heat and add the butter. Stir milk mixture until the butter melts. Add the vanilla and orange liqueur. Stir. Set the saucepan aside.
2. In the work bowl of a stand mixer, add the eggs and beat on high speed for 7 minutes. Add the sugar to the eggs and beat on high for an additional 8 minutes.
Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture. After the flour has been mixed in, add 1/2 of the milk mixture and beat until mixed. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix. Add the remaining milk mixture and mix. Add the final 1/3 of the flour. Mix to blend. Turn the mixer off and scrape the batter off the sides of the mixing bowl. Divide the batter equally between the two prepared pans.
3. Bake the cakes for 25 minutes. Remove the sponge cakes from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Invert the cakes on a wire rack and finish cooling the cakes. Proceed with assembling the parfaits (or cake) or freeze the sponge cake for a later use.
Orange Pastry Cream (or pudding mix, prepared)
6 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
5 Tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
Peel of 1/2 orange (1 inch wide strips)
3 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla (we used Cognac vanilla)
1 teaspoon orange liqueur (we used Solerno)
1. In a medium bowl add the egg yolks, flour, sugar and salt. Stir with a spoon until the flour, eggs and sugar are well mixed. The mixture will be thick.
2. In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, bring the milk, cream, and orange zest to just boiling. Remove the pan from the heat. Add 1/3 of the milk/cream mixture to the egg, flour, and sugar mixture and quickly and vigorously stir the ingredients to blend. Pour the egg and milk mixture into the saucepan of milk/cream. Stir. Return the saucepan to the stove. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly. When custard begins to boil, reduce the heat to low. Stirring constantly, cook the pastry cream until it thickens. Remove from heat. Remove the orange peel from the custard. Add the butter, vanilla and orange liqueur and stir until the butter is melted and the pastry cream is smooth. You may put the custard through a fine mesh strainer is you want it extra smooth. Empty the pastry cream into a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap (press the wrap onto the surface of the custard so a skin will not form). Chill the pastry cream until needed.
Raspberry Sauce (or strained jam, thinned with liqueur/water)
2 (12 ounce) bags frozen raspberries
2 cups granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
pinch salt
1. Put the raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, and salt into a medium heavy bottomed saucepan. Cook the mixture over low heat until the sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently. Increase the heat to medium and simmer, stirring frequently, for 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Remove the syrup from the heat. Run the syrup through a fine mesh strainer to remove all large pieces of raspberry and the seeds. Put the syrup in a storage container and chill in the refrigerator until needed.
Whipped Cream (no substitute, sorry)
3 cups heavy whipping cream, chilled
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla (we used Cognac vanilla)
1. Combine the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a medium sized bowl.
2. With a whisk or hand mixer, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Proceed with assembling the parfaits or layer cake. You may hold the cream in the refrigerator for up to an hour before making the parfaits.
Recipe ©Sally James Mathis
Photography ©Taylor Mathis
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