Strawberry Trifle

Past couple of weeks have been extremely crazy and filled with unexpected events - not really unexpected, more like untimely. I am sitting in a friend’s kitchen in Toronto as I type this post. I was supposed to come in July but some confusion with visa dates made us (husband and I) come in a lot earlier than we had planned for. It was a rushed trip and I was very nervous about how its all going to work out. I am happy to write that it has worked out fine so far - Canada gave me a warm welcome and I am now in Toronto which will become home in the next coming years. Very excited to add another city to my globetrotting list.

I have never seen a city so diverse as yet — I have visited NY once but TO is in my opinion way more mixed in terms the number of people that are from different ethnicity. Any of you followers from Toronto? Please leave a comment on this post and make your presence felt!

In this past one week - I have eaten stir fry at 4 different places as it is my favorite food. For the next month I will be staying in a place that is close to Chinatown and Little Italy - pretty pumped about being close to Chinatown…really looking forward to whipping up exciting food with awesome ingredients. I also visited St. Lawrence market a few days ago and that I think deserves a post in itself. I was in food heaven with so much fresh produce - locally grown gorgeous fruits and vegetables. From there is where I picked up these 2 boxes of fresh strawberries. They were luscious and sweet!

I have this trifle recipe since my Orlando days (5 years ago). Once my colleague/friend made this trifle and brought it to work - I went nuts after tasting it and haunted her till she gave up the recipe. Since then I have made it on several occasions and have had pretty amazing reactions every time I’ve made it. It is an easy recipe - literally just layering things together but it will make you the star of any party you take this to. We all love such recipes. Its perfect for the summer and bbq potlucks. It feeds large groups of people and you can whip it up pretty quickly — relatively speaking.

The ingredients used in this recipe are with the intention of reducing the cooking time and effort to put together this dessert. Most of these brands are available only in the North American region. That said, I have listed the substitutes and alternatives for the ingredients for people who don’t have the ingredients available in their market or who don’t want to make desserts using packaged products. Try this trifle - you will love it…I promise!

 

Serving 10 to 12 people

Cooking time 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 one pint boxes of fresh strawberries

1 1/2 cups cold milk

1 box white vanilla cake mix, or plain 10” inch vanilla cake

1/2 box jello instant vanilla pudding mix or 72g vanilla flavored gelatin

8 oz box cool whip or 226g sweetened whipped cream

1 (15 oz or 425 grams) can crushed pineapple in syrup

2 to 3 tbsp granulated sugar

1. Bake the cake as per the packaged instructions and cool completely. This step can be done one day in advance.
2. Cut the cake into small square like slices about 1 inch in thickness. Keep aside.
3. Chop 3/4^th of the strawberries into small pieces. Place in a bowl and sprinkle the sugar on it. Mix well and keep aside.
4. Slice the rest of the strawberries and keep aside.
5. Drain the crushed pineapple in a strainer and press with the back of a spoon to squeeze out any excess liquid. You want the pineapple to be relatively dry.
6. In a large bowl pour milk and sprinkle the instant vanilla pudding mix. Whisk till it forms a smooth mixture. Follow the package direction and let it set for about 10 to 12 minutes.
7. Once the pudding mix is set - fold in the whipped cream gently.
8. Add the crushed pineapple to the cream mixture and keep aside.
9. In a trifle bowl arrange a layer of cake – cover the bottom of the bowl completely with cake.
10. Spread a few spoonful of strawberry and sugar mixture along with some of the liquid that the strawberries would have released. Cover the cake layer evenly with the strawberry layer.
11. Add a layer of the cream mixture and cover the strawberries completely. Repeat with the cake layer followed by strawberries and cream.
12. You should finish with the layer of cream on the top.
13. Arrange sliced strawberries around the circumference of the bowl or any other desired pattern.
14. Chill the trifle for 4 to 5 hours before serving.