Lemon Berry Trifle

I made this for the wine & dessert party we had the other day, and it was a big hit! I was SO glad we had leftovers, and I may or may not have eaten some for breakfast one day... it has berries - that means it's healthy, right? :) Trifles are just perfect - such a good mesh of flavors and fairly easy to prepare. The only problem is that they look kind of weird when they're plopped onto plates. But, if you can get past that, trifles are WONDERFUL!

Recipe adapted from here.

Note: the trifle should be assembled 5-8 hours before serving for best results! The flavors will blend together during the 5-8 hours.

Berries (can be cooked up to a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator):
2 cups strawberries, stems removed (about one container)
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blueberries
Juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cornstarch

Lemon Cream:
3 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 10oz jar lemon curd (find in the baked goods aisle)

Pound Cake: 
one 9-inch round or 1 loaf lemon (or plain) pound cake [homemade or store-bought], cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
**I used my lemon pound cake recipe, but I only used about 2/3 of the 9-inch round

Combine the berries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook just until the berries begin to break down (strawberries will take the longest), about 5-7 minutes. Take the berries off the heat and let the mixture cool.

In a clean bowl, whip the cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Put the lemon curd into a second bowl and whisk in about 1/4 cup of the whipped cream mixture to loosen it up a bit. Gently fold in the rest of the cream. Cover and refrigerate if not using immediately.

To assemble the trifle, spread a layer of the cream in the bottom of a large glass or trifle bowl. Add a layer of pound cake (you may have to break the pound cake into smaller slices to get them to fit nicely). Then drizzle on about 1/3 of the berry syrup. Spoon a layer of lemon cream on top of the berries and smooth to the sides. Repeat all the layers 2-3 more times, finishing with a layer of lemon cream. Garnish the top with berries and/or lemon zest. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

here's the cream whipping!

berries on the stove...

all done!

lemon curd

pound cake

top of the trifle!

ta-da!