Tips and Tricks for Making Harriet's Trifles | Kelly the Chef

[kcjodih]

I originally just added this to the thread I started about Harriet's trifles but then of course I had some more questions


Originally Posted by KellyTheChef
BTW, I reserved a little bit of the cool whip in the EAD and then added some decorative stars on the top around the edge, in the middle, and then topped it off with a strawberry fan. Beautiful!



Kelly, thanks soooo much for all the tips with this recipe! You mentioned you've made it a few times at shows. Does it taste alright served right away or do I need to refrigerate it and do whatever for a while? Also, you mentioned you added some cool whip stars - is that on top of the already white top cream cheese layer? If so, did it still show up nicely? It states to garnish with remaining strawberries - how? I'm sooo not creative Just layer the slices around and around until I get to the middle? Or place a few slices here and there? HELP!!
__________________

Next question is this....I'm thinking of the Classic Batter Bowl for softening the cream cheese in the micro, the medium stainless bowl for combining the cream cheese, sour cream, icing sugar etc, the medium square for my cake pieces (host already bought angel food cake so I'll have to try the pound cake another time) and now I'm sitting here trying to figure out the strawberries, sugar and extract. Would it all fit and I could still mix it in the small batter bowl or should I bring ANOTHER bowl? What did you use? I had thought I'd have most of them hulled and presliced in the small batter bowl beforehand and then just keep some whole ones aside for the garnish (that I don't know how I'm doing on top LOL) and then I could hull and slice those separately. I'm concerned that the small batter bowl may not be large enough to have the strawberries and still and the sugar, extract and stir. Any thoughts?

 

[Admin Greg]

Hi there! I'm glad to help with any questions you have about this recipe. To answer your first question, I personally think the dessert tastes better if it has been refrigerated for a while. It allows all the flavors to meld together and the consistency to set. But if you're short on time, it will still taste great right away.For the cool whip stars, I actually just used a piping bag to make small stars on top of the white cream cheese layer. It added a nice touch and still showed up nicely. And for the garnish, I usually just place a few slices of strawberries on top in a circular pattern. Or you can just place them randomly - it's up to you!As for your second question, I think the Classic Batter Bowl would work well for softening the cream cheese and mixing the strawberries, sugar, and extract. It's a pretty versatile bowl and should have enough room for all the ingredients. And I like your idea of pre-slicing the strawberries in the small batter bowl beforehand. That should work just fine. Good luck with your dessert! Let me know how it turns out.

 

[sharalam]

Hi Kelly! I'm so glad you enjoyed the tips I shared for making Harriet's trifles. To answer your questions, I have found that the trifle tastes best when refrigerated for at least an hour before serving. This allows all the flavors to blend together and the layers to set. As for the cool whip stars, I usually add them on top of the white cream cheese layer before adding the strawberries. I use a star tip on a piping bag to make them, but you can also use a small spoon to make dollops of cool whip and then use a toothpick to shape them into stars. As for garnishing with strawberries, I usually slice them and then place them on top of the trifle in a circular pattern, starting from the outside and working my way towards the center. It's totally up to you how you want to arrange them, but I find that this method looks nice and is easy to do. As for your equipment, I think your plan sounds great! The Classic Batter Bowl is perfect for softening the cream cheese and mixing the strawberries, sugar, and extract. And the medium stainless bowl is great for combining the cream cheese mixture. As for the medium square bowl, that should be perfect for the cake pieces. I usually use the small batter bowl for the strawberries, but if you're worried about it not being big enough, you could always bring an extra bowl just in case. I hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions. Happy cooking!