The Giant Caramel Pear Trifle

I was asked to do a big dessert for the Diamonds in the Ruff Dessert Gala presented by the NWT SPCA tomorrow night. I found this huge vase which I thought would be perfect for a trifle. A very big one! This is what I have for them, except for a few garnishes I want to add tomorrow night.

Giant Caramelized Pear Trifle

Diamonds in the Ruff

Almond Cake

400 g soft butter

300 g almond flour

180 g flour

380 g icing sugar

Zest from 2 oranges

12 eggs

1.      Mix the soft butter with the hazelnut powder and icing sugar.

2.      Incorporate the eggs and zest slowly so they form an emulsion after each addition.

3.      Spread the batter on a 2 parchment lined half sheet pans.

4.      Bake at 160 C for 14 minutes. Turn and bake another 14 minutes.

Caramelized Pears (x2)

• 2 Tbsps water
• 1/4 cup  sugar
• 4 x Pears, peeled, cut in halves, seeds removed and cut into thin strips
• 1 tbsp grand Marnier
• zest of one orange

1. In a large skillet, heat the water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Boil the sugar until it begins to caramelize. When it reaches a nice golden brown colour, add the pears.
2. Over a high heat, cook the pears for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Pastry Cream (x3)

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup  35% cream
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp flour
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract

1. Mix the sugar and flour in a small bowl. Add the egg yolks and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
2. Heat the milk and cream in a medium size pot. Add the heated cream mixture to the egg yolk mixture slowly so the eggs don’t cook too quickly.
3. Pour the mixture back into the pot and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat at the first sign of boiling. Add the vanilla and almond extracts.
4. Strain the cooked pastry cream into a glass or plastic container and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic down a plastic film directly on the surface of the hot pastry cream.
5. Let it cool down and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Whipped Cream

• 4 cups 35% cream
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

1. In a bowl, whip the cream, vanilla and sugar until firm peaks are obtained.

Choclate Sauce

1 ½ cup cream

400 g chocolate

¼ cup Nutella

¼ cup Frangelico

• Heat the cream until it is just steaming. Pour it over the chocolate and mix until smooth. Add the Nutella and Frangelico and mix in.

Caramel Sauce (x2)

½ cup sugar

1 1/2 cups cream

2 tbsp grand Marnier

Zest and juice of ½ orange

1/8 tsp. baking soda

2 tbs. butter

¾ tsp. Vanilla

·         Place sugar in a heavy bottomed pot and add enough water to dissolve the sugar. Cook over high heat until a warm golden colour is achieved. Brush down the sides as the sugar is caramelizing. Caramelize the sugar.

·         Add the grand Marnier orange juice and zest and mix in. Add cream and baking soda, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

·         When the sauce thickens, add butter and vanilla.

 

Assembling

1. Reserve about 1 1/2 cups of whipped cream for topping the finished trifle.
2. Mix half of the remaining whipped cream with the chilled pastry cream to lighten it. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream to make the pastry cream light and fluffy.
3. Cut the cake into rounds that will fit the serving dish you are using. Start layering the filling, fruit cake and chocolate and caramel sauces in a way that looks nice in your dish. Use the reserved whipped cream to pipe onto the top.
4. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
5. For service, sprinkle with the almonds and other garnishes if you like. .
6. Serve the remaining caramel sauce on the side.