Sweet Grown Alabama Recipes

Ingredients

For the Whipped Cream:

• 3 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 5 tbsp. powdered sugar

For the Lemon Curd:

• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (two 1lb. bags should be plenty)
• 1 tsp. lemon zest (optional)
• 3 Eggs
• ½ cup butter, cubed
• ¾ cup sugar

To Assemble the Trifle:

• 1 16 oz. or 20 oz. frozen pound cake (ex. Sara Lee)
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup Sweet Grown Alabama strawberry jam 
• 2 quarts Sweet Grown Alabama fresh strawberries

Directions 

Make the Lemon Curd: 

1. Combine lemon juice, zest, sugar, and butter in a 2 qt. saucepan. 
2. Whisk over low to medium-low heat continuously until the sauce thickens enough to hold marks from the whisk and bubbles are starting to form (about 20 minutes). Be careful not to turn the heat up too high, which can curdle the eggs. 
3. Set aside to cool while you prepare other ingredients. This can be made ahead of time and kept under cling wrap for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Make the whipped cream (working in batches as needed):

1. Chill the mixing bowl and the whisk until they are ice cold. (If you don't have room in your freezer, try filling the bowl with ice water and then drying if off.)
2. Whip the cream at high speed until stiff peaks are just about to form.

3. Add powdered sugar and vanilla.

4. Beat until stiff peaks form (over mixing causes buttery lumps to from).

5. Chill until needed.

Assemble the Trifle:

1. Keep pound cake frozen until ready to use.
2. Using a serrated knife, cut the cake into two layers and trim the crusts and flatten the top.
3. Spread jam between the two layers.
4. Cut 1/2 inch slides of cake and arrange in a circle around the edge of the trifle.
5. Cut an equal amount of slices and reserve for another layer.
6. Cube the remaining cake into bite sized cubes.
7. Fill in the bottom layer with half of the cake cubes.
8. Drizzle 1/3 lemon curd over the cake.
9. Add a layer of strawberries. Halve your prettiest strawberries and place around the edge pointing up. Fill in the middle with quartered strawberries.
10. Add a layer of whipped cream to fill to the top of the strawberries.
11. Add the reserve border of jam sandwiches, and then fill in with the remaining cake cubes.
12. Drizzle the cake layer with another third of the lemon curd.
13. Add quartered strawberries and whipped cream to fill to the top of the cake border.
14. Spread a thin layer of curd on top of the whipped cream and top with a thin layer of strawberries.
15. Finish with a layer of whipped cream.
16. Decorate the top with your prettiest strawberries.