The finished decorated bowl will be a center piece on your table. But this was just a piece of heaven in my mouth. Layered with rose wine jelly, whipped cream, diced strawberries, chopped toasted almonds, crème pâtissière, chocolate ladyfingers, and topped with chocolate covered strawberries. All the different flavors and textures come together to form this wonderful trifle dessert.
You deserve this chocolate dessert just because!!!
Ingredients:
1 pint of strawberries
1/4 cup of chocolate chip
2 cups of whipped cream
1/4 cup of toasted almonds
Rosé wine
2 cups of rosé wine
2 tsp of agar agar
1/2 cup of sugar
Crème patissière
3 cups of milk
1 tbsp of vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 whole eggs + 2 egg yolks
Chocolate ladyfingers
5 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tbsp of cornstarch
1/2 tsp of cream of tartar
Let’s get started!!!
You can start by making the ladyfingers. Preheat the oven at 400 degrees F.
Take one tablespoon away from the flour, and mix in the cornstarch to the flour. Add in the cocoa powder and a pinch of salt and mix them in as well. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites; keep in mind that eggs are easiest to separate when they are cold. Pour in the vanilla extract, a pinch of salt and sugar to the egg yolks and cream them until it becomes lighter in color and has doubled in size. The egg yolks will become a very light mixture.
Whip the egg whites; egg whites are easiest to whip when they are at room temperature. Add a pinch of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar to the egg whites so that they will foam to their full volumes. Make sure whichever bowl you are using for the egg white is super clean, no grease residue on it or the whites won’t foam. A metal or glass bowl is usually the best choice for this. Even better if you have a copper bowl, you won’t even need to add the salt nor the cream of tartar, they will foam with no problem. Once the egg whites have foamed up (about 4-5 minutes), add in the sugar in 3 parts while constantly whisking. The mixture will become very shinny. Rub a bit in between your fingers; if it still feels gritty, then the sugar has not dissolve completely yet, keep whisking. I usually use powdered sugar when whipping egg whites to avoid this problem.
Put the flour mixture and the egg yolk mixture together, and mix them with whipped egg whites; but don’t mix the egg whites all at once or they will deflate. Add in the egg whites in three parts, and fold it into the flour and egg yolk mixture slowly. When it’s done folding, put the cookie batter in a piping bag. Cut off the end of the bag, and pipe some logs that are about three inches long. Do this on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake them for 8 minutes. When they are done baking, remove the cookies immediately from the parchment paper so they won’t stick, and put them on a wire rack to cool down.
While the cookies are baking, you can make the rosé wine jelly. It’s very easy and fast. Whisk the agar agar in cold water, not hot water or it will lump up, and bring it to a boil. When the agar agar water runs off clear from a spoon, pour in the rosé wine and sugar, and mix them in well. Since I want the jelly to be my first layer, I will let it set directly in the trifle bowl. Agar agar jelly set fast, either at room temperature or in the fridge.
Once the cookies are done and the jelly is setting, you can get on with the crème patissière. On a low flame, warm up the milk. As a preference, I am using plant-based milk, but use whatever you choose to. Using two whole eggs and two egg yolks, add in vanilla extract, pinch of salt, sugar, cornstarch and cream the eggs until they become light in color and has doubled in size. When the eggs are done creaming, add the warm milk gradually (and very slowly) to the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Pour the milk mixture back in the pot and let it thicken up on a low flame. Once the crème patissière has thicken up, strain it through a fine mesh strainer to remove any remaining lumps in the mixture. Cover with foil (or plastic wrap) to avoid a skin forming on top, and let it cool down.
While the custard is cooling down, cover the strawberries in chocolate. Melting chocolate can tricky. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 seconds intervals. Add 1 tsp of coconut oil (or any oil) or vegetable shortening to help with the melting. Mix between each time until the chocolate is melted completely. It’s important to mix after each time in the microwave to avoid hot spots and the chocolate burning. Or, melt the chocolate over a bain-marie on low heat. It is the easiest and safest way to melt your chocolate without burning it, but it takes longer to do so.
Dip each strawberry in the melted chocolate and place them on parchment paper or a non-stick surface. Let them set in the fridge. In the meantime, whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks, about 4-5 minutes. Heavy cream is best to whip when it is super cold. Slice some fresh strawberries; and dice some others. In a blender, crush some toasted almonds.
Ok. Now that every part of this dessert is ready, all there is to do is to assemble it in its trifle bowl. You can decorate and layer it as you want. Here’s how I did mine. I sliced some strawberries thinly and stick them to the side of the bowl. My next layer is the whipped cream. I made sure the amount of whipped cream I put in that layer is as tall as the strawberries. I also made sure that the whipped cream entered each nook and cranny between each sliced strawberry. Next I sprinkled the crushed almonds and some diced strawberries on top of the whipped cream. I followed that with a layer of the crème patissière, and a layer of the chocolate ladyfingers. I also stuck some of the ladyfingers to the side of the trifle bowl for a nice look from the outside. After that repeat the process until the bowl is filled and finish with a layer of whipped cream. Put the chocolate covered strawberries on top as decoration.
Enjoy your dessert
Thank you for your time!!!