Lemon & Berry Trifle

As a big citrus lover, I've been itching to make lemon curd since I read about it on Gillian's blog (HERE). I searched around online and decided to try out Ina Garten's Lemon Curd recipe (shown here). I was pretty happy with the outcome until I realized it made 3 cups of lemon curd....what in the world am I going to do with 3 CUPS of lemon curd? I had originally thought I would keep it around in the fridge (lemon curd has a refrigeration life of approximately 3 weeks) to use on toast in lieu of jam, but I knew there was no way I'd use it up before it expired.

So I looked in my fridge, saw some fresh berries (thank you Henry's!) and decided I would make a lemon & berry trifle and it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. If you are a citrus lover, this is a nice refreshing dessert. Here's what I did:

1 C. Lemon Curd

3/4 C. Heavy Whipping Cream

Shortcakes (the kind you find at the store for strawberry shortcakes)

Berries (I used blackberries & strawberries, because this is what I had at home, but I think blueberries would pair really well with the lemony flavor).

1) Whip the Heavy Cream with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Note: Usually when I make whip cream I like to add in a little sugar. Trust me on this one that no extra sugar is necessary, because the lemon curd itself is super sweet.

2) Fold the prepared whipped cream into the 1 C. Lemon Curd until you have a smooth custard consistency. This proportion of lemon curd mousse was almost the perfect amount for these two large trifles.

3) Chop berries to desired size (I halved the blackberries, and cut the strawberries into 4 to 6 pieces depending on the size of the strawberry).

4) Slice up short bread, so you can easily fit it into the width of the glasses or bowls, you are using for your trifles.

4) Start layering you trifles! First arrange slices of shortbread to make a base layer, then proceed with the curd mousse, and then a layer of berries. Continue in the order until you reach the top (it will look best if you end on a berry layer). Note: It's important to layer the mousse directly on top of the shortcakes, so the cakes can soak up some of that mousse!

And there you have it. Fresh mint on top would also be a nice garnish, although I didn't have any around at home. Now what to do with the other 2 cups of lemon curd? =)

xox,

Bre