Orange Cranberry Trifle

Freshly homemade cranberry squares are crumbled and layered with a delicious orange and rosemary-infused whipped cream. Topped with sugared cranberries and rosemary, this Orange Cranberry Trifle is a mouthwatering, showstopping holiday dessert!

I’m not sure what it is, but the tartness of fresh cranberries always pairs so well with the sweet tanginess of fresh citrus. In the case of this Orange Cranberry Trifle, I choose to use fresh orange zest and orange juice, but you can use lemon here too! I’m using fresh cranberries here, but you can use frozen too. If you use frozen, thaw them out first in a single layer and gently pat them dry with paper towels to absorb the excess moisture.

Have you been reading my blog for any length of time? If you have, you will already be aware of what I’m about to discuss. If you haven’t, it’s important that you understand how frustrating it can be to be a food blogger at times. Food bloggers are always working ahead of schedule. When it comes to Christmas recipes, for example, we are baking cakes and cookies as early as September!

We do this so that we can test the recipes to make sure that they will work for you at home. The recipes need to be plated and styled. Photographs need to be taken. We have to write up the post and make sure we please the folks at Google, otherwise, our recipes run the risk of being buried in cyberspace somewhere. There are many other steps that I’m skipping here, but all of it is to say that we need the time to get the recipes out to you a few weeks before you need them.

Now, as a huge fan of Christmas baking – the 100+ Christmas recipes here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen are proof of that – there’s one thing that frustrates me every single year. There’s a tremendous lack of things like fresh cranberries for many months of the year. Don’t even get me started on holiday confections like Hershey’s chocolate or candy canes! Luckily, here in Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving in October, so I was able to get my hands on the cranberries used in this trifle!

I’m going to tell you all about this recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season. But first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. Over the past seven Christmases, I have built a reputation for sharing series-type recipes. The most popular would be my annual 24 Cookies of Christmas, which was fashioned after an advent calendar. But, I have others that are only 12 days, which were fashioned after the 12 Days of Christmas.

Before we get to a list of ingredients and instructions for today’s recipe, let me tell you about this series and more! Welcome, Dear Reader, to my first Christmas series this holiday season! I’m calling this series Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Trifles.

Just like every other series that I’ve shared over the years, this one will also see a new recipe shared each day for the next 12 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Trifles Series! Even though this is the first series for this holiday season, you can always look back at previous years if you just cannot wait until the next recipe is published. Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

LAYERED DESSERTS ARE THE EASIEST AND THE BEST!

Layered desserts have been popular for many, many years. For those of us who were not blessed with the ability to decorate elaborate cakes or whip up a choux pastry or even master the art of a good meringue, there are layered desserts. Think about it! The popularity of desserts like no-bake cheesecakes, trifles, tiramisus, etc., is proof.

I like to think that a layered dessert can certainly be just as elegant if prepared the right way. Make it simple. Overcomplicated desserts are no fun to prepare or eat. Choose two or three flavour combinations, because too many will just become muddled and the flavours will compete with each other. That’s what I think of trifles. I do love them, but I don’t care for them if they too many ingredients and too many layers. I’ll do my best to keep the trifles in this series uncomplicated.

If you are looking for more layered desserts, look no further! I’ve got you covered right here. Try these Stacked Vanilla Strawberry Shortcakes, for example. Or a breakfast version using waffles! Speaking of strawberry shortcakes, you have got to try these puff pastry flakies – they are probably my favourite dessert of all time.

HOW TO MAKE ORANGE CRANBERRY TRIFLE

To prepare the sugared cranberries and rosemary, whisk together the light corn syrup and water. Coat the cranberries and rosemary sprigs with the mixture by tossing them with the corn syrup mixture. Spread the sugar on a baking sheet and roll the coated cranberries and rosemary into the sugar until well covered. Transfer them to a wire cooling rack with a baking sheet underneath. Set aside for 2 hours to dry. Do not cover and do not refrigerate.

Next, prepare the cranberry bars by adding all of the cranberry filling ingredients to a mixing bowl and tossing well to coat and combine. Set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a 9×13 inch baking dish by lining it with parchment paper. Next, in a large mixing bowl, add all of the crumb ingredients and use your hands to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until a crumbly consistency is formed. Press half of the crumb mixture into the prepared 9×13 baking dish. Press firmly to form a solid base. Pour the cranberry mixture over top and spread it out evenly. Next, evenly distribute the remaining crumb mixture over top, pressing very lightly to push the crumb mixture gently into the cranberry layer. Bake for 40 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Once cooled, cut into squares and gently crumble them so that they are smaller bite-sized pieces. Set those aside.

To prepare the whipped cream, start by measuring the sugar in a small bowl. Toss in two or three sprigs of the sugared rosemary and massage the rosemary into the sugar quite aggressively. Rub the sugar against the rosemary. The coarseness of the sugar will cause the rosemary to release its scent and flavour. You can also do this in a pestle and mortar. Next, transfer the whipping cream to a chilled mixing bowl. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks are formed. Add the rosemary-infused sugar one tablespoon at a time. Beat to incorporate. Beat in the orange extract. Set aside.

To assemble the trifle, place a third of the cranberry square crumbles into a trifle bowl in an even layer. Top those crumbles with half of the cranberry sauce, followed by a third of the whipped cream. Repeat with another layer of crumbles, cranberry sauce, and whipped cream. Finish with one more layer of crumbles and whipped cream. Garnish with the sugared cranberries and rosemary before serving. (The dried orange slices in the photographs are completely optional.)

HEAVY CREAM VS WHIPPING CREAM

Confession time – I use them both interchangeably, depending on what is available at the store, or whatever is on sale! Both of these can be quite costly. If memory serves me correctly, a 250mL carton, or one cup, here in Canada, will run just short of $5! There is a difference in the two, but not enough to concern yourself with when it comes to this Orange Cranberry Trifle.

Just in case you’re interested, the most basic difference is the amount of fat contained in both. Whipping cream has 35% fat. It can be whipped into peaks and it’s also rich enough that it won’t curdle when heated in soups and sauces. It’s nearly identical to heavy cream so if a recipe calls for heavy cream and you can only find whipping cream, feel free to use that instead. In contrast, heavy cream, which is sometimes called heavy whipping cream, contains about 38% fat. Either of those would work well in this recipe. I used 35% whipping cream.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN PREPARING TRIFLES

First of all, there are no steadfast rules about how many layers you should or shouldn’t have. My rule of thumb is this – make the trifle big enough to feed your family and/or guests, and use a bowl that is big enough to accommodate the layers. If you have a larger trifle bowl, you can simply add another layer or add more berries or cake to fill it up. Likewise, if your bowl is too small, you can make mini trifles with the leftover ingredients in stemmed dessert bowls.

Trifles cannot be prepared days in advance, nor can they be frozen. Since most trifle recipes are assembly-type recipes, the best thing to do is to prepare them on the day you plan to eat them. However, with that said, every trifle in this series can be prepared a day in advance. If you prepare the trifle a day in advance, it’s a good idea to set the garnish aside and place it onto the trifle just before serving. That way, your trifle will look like it was just freshly prepared.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down to follow me and never miss another recipe!