When I woke up this morning, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Iran beat Wales, albeit a man-down, with 2 goals in extra time. This helps the U.S.’s chances in advancing out of the group stage. Wales will next have to face England for their last game. We’ll play Iran for our final match on Monday…but, today, the US Men's National Team takes on vaunted England. If we could somehow win this match, we all but guarantee an advance to the group of 16. Even if we draw again, our fate will be in our hands with a win-and-you’re-in final group game.
But, to the point of this post, this is my next meal in a series of “Eat ‘em & Beat ‘em” dishes. Since we’re taking on a juggernaut of a team, I figured I had to go all out. So, I made the multi-phased recipe known as trifle. It’s cake, custard, macerated berries, whipped cream, a little booze, and requires a lot of time, patience, and attention-to-detail to tackle this English classic dessert. In other words, what it will take to get through this match for the squad, as well as the viewer! Let’s go USA!
Summer Berry Trifle
from America’s Test Kitchen, Cook’s Illustrated
Pastry Cream
3.5 cups whole milk, divided
1 cup sugar
6 tbsp cornstarch
5 large egg yolks (reserving the whites for cake)
4 tbsp butter, cubed and chilled
4 tsp vanilla extract
Cake
1 ⅓ cup cake flour
¾ cup sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
⅓ cup vegetable oil + more for greasing
¼ cup water
Egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 egg whites
¼ tsp cream of tartar
½ cup cream sherry, divided (for assembly)
Fruit Filling
1.5 lbs of strawberries, hulled and diced into ½ inch pieces - reserve 3 whole for garnish
12 oz blackberries, halved horizontally - reserve 3 whole for garnish
12 oz raspberries, reserve 3 whole for garnish
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp cornstarch
Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cream sherry
Prepare the Pastry Cream by heating 3 cups of milk over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it just begins to simmer. Meanwhile, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt in a large mixing bowl.
In the egg white bowl, whisk the remaining ½ cup of milk into the eggs. Then pour into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
Once the warming milk is ready, whisk in about a cup into the egg white mixture, then pour those contents into the pot and whisk to combine. Continue to cook over medium heat, until very thick and bubbles begin to break the surface.
Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla, until fully combined.
Then, pour the mixture into a bowl, through a fine mesh strainer using a rubber spatula to press the custard through the sieve. Spray a piece of parchment paper with cooking spray and press down onto the surface of the custard. Place in the refrigerator for a few hours, or up to 24 hours.
Make the cake by preheating the oven to 350 with the rack in the middle slot. Lightly grease a sheet pan, place a piece of parchment onto the greased surface, then lightly grease the paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, briefly stir together the first 4 dry ingredients. Add in the oil, water, egg, and vanilla and whisk until smooth; reserve.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-low speed until foamy (1 minute), then increase the speed to medium-high and continue to whisk until soft peaks just hold.
Whisk ⅓ of the eg white mixture into the batter until fully combined. Then dump in the remaining egg whites and fold in with a spatula. Pour on to the prepared pan, using the spatula to evenly spread out the batter. Bake for about 15 minutes.
Place the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Then, run a butter knife around the cake edges. Place another cooling rack onto the surface of the cake and invert the cake. Remove the sheet pan, and peel the parchment off the bottom surface of the cake, holding the cake surface down with your hand to prevent breaking. Place the cooling rack onto the bottom surface and flip the cake back over, right-side-up. Allow to fully cool, 20-30 minutes.
While the cake cools, prepare the fruit filling by placing 1.5 cups of the cut strawberries and 1 cup each of the cut black berries and raspberries into a pot, along with the sugar and cornstarch, over medium heat. Using a potato masher, mash the berries into bits. Continue to cook until thick and bubbling, about 5-7 minutes.
Then, pour the hot berries over the remaining non-garnish berries. Stir and allow to cool.
While the berries cool, trim off a ¼ inch from all of the sides of the cake. Then cut into 24 pieces.
Finally, prepare the whipped cream topping, by whisking everything together in a stand mixer on medium-low speed until foamy (about a minute). Then, increase the speed to medium-high and continue until medium peaks hold, about 2 minutes.
Assemble the trifle in a bowl with straight sides. Retrieve the cooled custard and briefly whisk to loosen the mixture up, then smear ¾ cup on the bottom of the dish.
Place 10 overlapping pieces of cake around the bottom of the dish and 2 pieces in the middle of the circle. Pour ¼ cup of sherry over the cake, followed by half of the berry mixture (including the juices). Next, add half of the remaining custard, spreading it around with the back of a large spoon, followed by half of the whipped cream.
Repeat the layering process once more with the cake, sherry, berries, custard, and cream. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours, or up to 36 hours.
When ready to serve, hull and halve the reserved strawberries and place them around the top decoratively, filling in the space with the reserved blackberries and raspberries. Garnish with a sprig of mint and serve. ______________________________ Copyright 2022, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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