hungry for the holidays

I love the holidays. I appreciate them so much more than I used to for two reasons.

First of all, I value the excuse to trek back home. Now that I'm living farther from my family, it takes a lot more effort to see everyone than was required in the past. I know I shouldn't need a reason to drive up to visit, but I do. The second thing that rocks about the holidays is that I have free rein in trying new recipes. I'm pretty much pigeon-holed into making dessert for any and all special occasions, and that's fine with me. My friends and family usually don't give any guidelines but let me make and bring whatever my heart desires. Sometimes I get too adventurous, sometimes I go with the tried and true.

This recipe fits both categories--it includes some elements that are new and others that have already proven delicious. It's a trifle, which to me means that it's a layered dessert consisting of some sort of crumbled cake, creamy custard or pudding, and a form of fruit. I took a look at my Krusteaz shelf, spotted lemon pound cake, and built from there. Blueberries were a definite (that's a natural combination), and I decided to go with white chocolate pudding as my creamy layer, but in retrospect, coconut would've been better. (Next time.)

As with all trifles, this gets better the longer it sits in the fridge. The cake softens and the layers mingle. I sprinkled Trader Joe's Roasted Coconut Chips(my favorite Trader Joe's product) on top before serving to give a little textural complexity, and it was good. My only complaint about the dish is that it was extremely difficult to photograph. Though it's a showstopper in the trifle bowl, I just couldn't find the right combination of light and angle (obviously). It loses all aesthetic appeal in the serving dish, but please know that it really is a tasty and elegant dessert.

For more tasty and elegant dessert ideas and tons of other useful information, join the Twitter and Facebook chats coming up tomorrow and Tuesday!.

·Twitter: Monday, December 15 from 4-5pm EST
·Facebook: On December 16 at 4 pm EST, Krusteaz culinary specialist Malia Hasegawa will host a live holiday baking chat on the Krusteaz Facebook page. Malia will answer holiday baking questions and share ideas for festive foodie gifts.

Lemon Blueberry Trifle
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 90 minutes
Effort: Easy
Number of servings: 12

Ingredients:

• 1 package Krusteaz Meyer Lemon Pound Cake mix
• 3/4 cup water
• 10 tablespoons melted butter
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 2 (1-ounce) packages white chocolate instant pudding
• 12 ounces whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (21-ounce) can blueberry pie filling
• Fresh blueberries, optional, for garnish
• 1 ounce white chocolate, optional, for garnish

Directions:
·First, make the pound cake. You can do this as much as 2 days ahead of time.
·Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan.
·Stir together the water, melted butter, and cake mix until moistened; spoon batter into prepared pan.
·Bake 44-46 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; gently loosen and remove from pan. Let cool completely. When you're ready to assemble, cut the cooled pound cake into 1-inch cubes.
·In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, milk, and pudding mixes. Blend until mixture begins to thicken. Fold in the whipped topping until the mixture is no longer streaky.
·To assemble, in your trifle bowl layer 1/3 of the cake, 1/3 of the blueberry pie filling, and 1/3 of the pudding mixture. Spread evenly and repeat layers 2 more times, finishing with the pudding mixture. Sprinkle the top with fresh blueberries and/or grated white chocolate, if desired.
·Refrigerate 30 minutes or more before serving.