I was asked to make a dessert for dinner at a neighbor's. I began to mull over ideas. I do find it intriguing how my brain 'hop scotches' from one thing to another! I call it the evolution of an idea.
So my first thought was to make my mother's famous mocha cake. Yum! But, I don't have the three cake pans it requires for the coffee-laced sponge cakes (they are in California). But, that's OK, I've made it as a jelly roll before.
| Not my cake, but it looks like it! From: livforcake.com |
But then....
I have come to realize that I'm getting more sensitive to caffeine. This cake has espresso in the cake, in the filling and in the icing. It also has some chocolate in it, which can also keep me awake. Maybe the attendees at the dinner have the same sensitivity???
So, what then?
Ah, strawberries are in season here in Florida (if our freezing temps have totally done the crop in). I can make a jelly roll with a nice sponge cake, make a filling using fresh strawberries, add a whipped cream frosting and garnish with more berries. That would be perfect! It's near Valentine's Day, and what would be more appropriate than a pretty red and white cake?!
Wait, wait! Do I have a trifle bowl here? Yes, indeed! I will use the berries and a sponge cake, along with some whipped cream and make a beautiful, tasty, seasonal dessert! Great! The evolution of my idea has led me here.
Should I infuse the berries with some sort of fancy liqueur? Perhaps some Chambord? Let me check the Internet. I mean, really, why should anyone have cook books anymore, with so many options at our fingertips. (But it is so much fun paging through cookbooks and magazines and enjoying all of the photos, the heft of the book, the odor of the ink and so forth!) Regardless, I look up 'Strawberry Trifle' to check out ideas others have for how to make a scrumptious, simple, elegant, seasonal dessert.
Looky here....
Here's an amazing post with a whole list of tempting trifles. I didn't really think about the options out there. Shame on me, I am usually more creative than that!
But...
the evolution of an idea is complete!
Carrot cake trifle it is!
Will mine look anything like this?
Time will tell!
It's been decades since I've made a trifle. I have the dish that I see daily. You have made me decide I'll make one. Yours looks perfect!
ReplyDeleteI think part of the problem for me with a trifle is the sheer volume of food in it.
DeleteLooks good enough. My mother would make a jelly roll now and then and that's exactly what it was, sponge cake on a sheet pan with grape jelly filling. But we kids loved it. I don't bake very much, I don't need the sugar, he doesn't need the calories but sometimes I make a crostata with a single pie crust and fresh fruit, peaches or blueberries, sometimes strawberries.
ReplyDeleteI am in Oakland, CA to visit my kids. There is an amazing French bakery up the street that has amazing crostata's. The kids love them....and it feels a bit better knowing that there is a lot of fruit involved.
DeleteA trifle was a staple in our household growing up on special occasions. Although I don't drink; or very rarely, I do enjoy a sherry trifle, meaning the sponge in the bottom was soaked in sherry. In Canada a trifle isn't commonplace, and the kids and grandkids don't like it, so it's not something I make anymore, even though like you I have a trifle bowl.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of 'trifle' my mind immediately goes to Britain....as if I'm reading a novel and the character is serving a trifle! I don't think my mom ever made one.
DeleteI've never heard of a carrot cake trifle but yours certainly is pretty and no doubt is delicious! Well done!
ReplyDeleteWe seldom have dessert at all as our appetites have changed.
Hugs!
I love sweets and carbs...but my body certainly doesn't need them. I don't bake sweets except on very rare occasions. One of the guests at the dinner really loved the trifle and the hostess had some take home containers, so I had the guest take all of the remains!
DeleteIsn't it amazing how our ideas start in one place, and end up in another? I got very excited at the picture of the strawberry trifle, and thought that's what you landed on, only for the twist of the carrot cake one. I never would have thought about it, but it looks so good!
ReplyDelete