Posted by: Sue Freeman 08-04-99 8:21 PM
Cherry Almond Trifle
Source: Bon Appetit
Jam:
2 cups cherries (12 oz. pitted) coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Cake:
1 (7 oz) pkg almond paste, cut into small pieces
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Custard:
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
6 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups half and half
Garnish:
3 cups fresh cherries, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 cup chilled whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Cherries with Stems
Slivered Almonds, toasted
Prepare Jam:
Combine all jam ingredients in a heavy medium saucepan.
Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture boils.
Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until jam is thick
Stir often.
It will take about 22 minutes.
Transfer to small bowl, cover and chill up to 3 days.
Prepare Cake:
Preheat oven to 325.
Butter 9 inch springform pan and line bottom with parchment, and spray or butter parchment.
Blend almond paste and sugar in processor until mixture resembles fine
meal, about 1 minute.
Add butter and vanilla and blend well, scraping down sides of bowl to
completely incorporate.
Blend in eggs one at a time.
Pulse, while slowly adding flour, baking powder and salt.
Do not over mix.
Transfer to prepared pan.
Place pan on baking sheet and bake until tester inserted comes out clean and top is golden.
About 1 hour 10 minutes.
Cool cake on rack, cover and let stand at room temperature for one day.
Prepare Custard:
Whisk 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch in heavy saucepan to blend.
Beat in yolks and vanilla.
Gradually whisk in half and half.
Stir over medium heat until custard thickens and boils.
Transfer to bowl.
Press plastic wrap onto top surface and chill for one day.
Cut around pan sides to loosen cake and release sides of pan.
Cut cake horizontally into 3 layers.
Discard parchment.
Spoon thin layer of custard over bottom of 3 to 3 1/2 qt trifle bowl.
Trim 1 cake layer to fit, if necessary to fit in bowl.
Spread with 1/3 of custard.
Mix chopped cherries into jam.
Spoon 1/3 of cherry jam onto custard and spread to edges of cake so jam shows.
Top with second layer of cake, half of remaining custard, half of the remaining cherries and again spread to edge of bowl.
Top with third layer and repeat above instructions.
Beat whipping cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.
Transfer to pastry bag fitted with a star tip.
Pipe cream in center of trifle.
Pipe rosettes around edges and on top and top off with cherries in middle of each rosette.
Sprinkle with almonds over top of everything.
Cover and chill at least 3 hours and up to one day.