Individual Cherry Trifles
The recipe itself is not difficult. It does take some time, because your cherries need to be cooked then chilled. Everything else is pretty easy.
I chose canned cherries because I wanted a lot of liquid. I rarely ever buy canned cherries, but wanted to try it this way, and I was really quite pleased. You can definitely use fresh or frozen cherries. You will probably need to add a small amount of water, and, of course, the sugar, because you do want some delicious syrup in your trifles.
I did add a tiny bit of red food coloring to brighten my cherries, but that is not necessary. Some people may be allergic to red dye. Feel free to leave it out!
Soft ladyfingers are best here for layering. Another soft but dense cake would work here, too. Angel food cake, diced small or torn, would be fine. If you opt for ladyfingers, be sure they are soft, and not the crispy ones. The firm/crispy ladyfingers are ideal for tiramisu, not so much this recipe. The soft lady fingers will most likely be found in the bakery section of your grocery store, since they are more perishable than those found in the cookie aisle.
I chose to use a vanilla bean for vanilla flavor and aesthetics. The tiny flecks of beans throughout add a classiness that I like. I also didn’t want the white color of the whipped cream to be tinted by vanilla extract. But, I’m aware vanilla beans are expensive, so you can certainly substitute vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract. I would not omit the vanilla all together, because it adds a nice flavor to the sweetened whipped cream. Yes, you could use clear vanilla extract, but I think the artificial flavor would be too prominent for the whipped cream. Your choice, of course.
Once these are assembled, they are ready to eat! Or, cover each one tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate them for up to 12 hours. I know that’s not long, but if your whipped cream is homemade, it won’t be very stable for much longer than 2 days.
Individual Cherry Trifles
Equipment
- 4 10-ounce glasses or cups
Ingredients
- 2 15-ounce cans pitted cherries, undrained
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice, fresh or bottled
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 4 teaspoons cold water
- 2 cups cold whipping cream
- 4 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, more or less to taste
- 1/2 vanilla bean, slit and scraped of seeds, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3-ounce package soft lady finger
- fresh mint leaves, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Add the cherries and their juices to a medium saucepan placed over medium-high heat. Add the sugar and lemon juice. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and cherries are bubbling. Using a spoon, remove a small amount of the liquid, let it cool, then taste for sweetness and add more sugar if desired.
- In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with the cold water until all the cornstarch is dissolved. Add to the simmering cherries. Stir continually until the liquid has thickened to a syrup consistency.
- Remove the pan from the heat, scrape the cherries and their syrup into a small bowl and refrigerate or freeze until chilled. Stirring the cherries occasionally will help them to chill faster. If you put the cherries in the freezer, don’t forget them or you’ll be thawing them out before you can use them. Set a timer if that helps. The cherries can chill in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- For the whipped cream, place the whipping cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla bean seeds in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, and whip until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- To assemble, place enough lady fingers in one layer to cover the bottom of your glass (or bowl). Spoon an even layer of the chilled cherries on top of the lady fingers. Pipe or spread a layer of whipped cream on top of the cherries. Repeat 2 more times, ending with the whipped cream. Top with mint leaves, if using.
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