Lemon Blueberry Trifle

Curd.*

What an unpleasant sounding word. Really, I do not care for it. Maybe it's because it rhymes with turd. Curd ranks right up there with the words luxurious and snacks.** I don't know why, but I don't like those words either.

Am I weird? Yeah, probably.

Why do I reveal this about myself? Well, I have wanted to make lemon curd for a long time now. I've read about it in books, watched people use it on TV, and seen in mentioned on multiple food blogs.

It really sounds incredibly yummy.

Costco had amazing blueberries for sale. I couldn't resist and bought a container. And since Costco sells everything in bulk, I needed to start using them up soon before they went bad.

What to do? Hmmm... Lemon goes well with blueberries, right?

That's it! This is my opportunity to try making lemon curd, and I'll find a way to combine it with blueberries.

But, I'm changing the name. From now on, lemon curd will be known as lemon butter (like peanut butter, apple butter, or honey butter).

I found this recipe online for Lemon Blueberry Trifle. With a couple of minor modifications, I made it for the summer party at work. It turned out to be a show-stopping creation earning rave reviews all around.

Since I made this dessert from scratch, I admit it took a while. However, you could easily use frozen pound cake and store bought lemon curd spread. Then, you'd have this spectacular dessert ready in about 30 minutes. Really. Give it a try, and wow the crowds.

*Some people have been known to affectionately call me Curd as a nickname. Yeah, I still love 'em anyway.
**A friend of mine wrote a funny blog post about this. Check it out here.

Ta-dah! And no, this is not a luxurious snack.

The one thing about trifles, no one ever wants to be the 

first to dig in. But once someone does...watch out!

Lemon Blueberry Trifle
(adapted from www.epicurious.com)
Ingredients:

• 3 ½-pint containers fresh blueberries
  
• 1 ½ to 2 pound cake loaves
  
• Lemon syrup
  
• Lemon curd butter
• Filling

Cut pound cake into 1-in. cubes. This works easiest if cake is frozen.

Puree 1 container of blueberries (a pint of blueberries is roughly 2 cups). Transfer to medium bowl. Stir in ¼ cup lemon syrup. Add 1 ½ containers blueberries and mash with a potato masher or fork until chunky puree forms. Reserve remaining blueberries for garnish.

Arrange and press ⅓ of pound cake cubes (about 2 generous cups) into bottom of 14-cup glass trifle dish. Drizzle with 7 Tbsps. lemon syrup. Spoon ⅓ of cream cheese filling (about 2 cups) over cake spreading to sides of dish. Spread half of blueberry puree over the curd lemon butter also spreading to sides of dish. Spoon half of lemon curd butter over the blueberry puree, and spread to sides of the dish. Repeat layering with ⅓ of cake cubes, 7 tablespoons lemon syrup, 1/3 of cream cheese filling, and remaining blueberry puree, then remaining cake cubes, 7 tablespoons lemon syrup, and remaining lemon curd butter. Spread remaining cream cheese filling over. Sprinkle with reserved blueberries. Cover and chill overnight.

Lemon curd butter
Ingredients:

• ¾ cup unsalted butter
• 1 ⅓ cups sugar
• ⅔ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. grated lemon peel
• ⅛ tsp. salt
• 5 large eggs

Cut butter into tablespoon sized pieces. Add butter, sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel and salt to a medium-sized saucepan. Stir over medium heat until butter is completely melted and the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. In a bowl, beat eggs. Gradually add eggs to saucepan while whisking. Return to stove over medium-low heat and continue to whisk for about 2 minutes or until curd thickens. Strain curd spread through a sieve into a bowl. Cover by pressing plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the curd butter. Chill overnight.

Pound Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 ¾ cups sugar
• 12 egg yolks, room temperature
• 3 cups flour
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Grease and flour two loaf pans. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each. Sift dry ingredients together. Add buttermilk and flour mixture alternately, mixing after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake in a 350° oven for 70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Freezes well.

Lemon syrup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• cup sugar
• ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon (packed) grated lemon peel

Combine all ingredients in small saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Cool.

Filling

Ingredients:

• 1 8-oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 ¼ cups chilled heavy whipping cream
• ¼ tsp. vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese, 1 Tbsp. sugar, ¼ cup whipping cream, and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat 2 cups whipping cream, and 1 Tbsp. sugar until peaks form. Fold in half of whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. Once it is mixed well, fold in the remaining whipped cream.