Layers of Happiness

I've always been in love with trifles. Growing up in a traditional Indian family from a small town, I didn't know what the classic trifle really was until I moved to the US. We did, however, have our own versions. The heavenly Cocktail with layers of fruits, cake, ice-cream and jelly at the Imperial Ice-cream parlor or my Aunt's version with fruits, custard and tutti-frutti cake; scooping a bit from every layer of deliciousness with a tall spoon and stuffing my face with that big bite put a huge smile on my face. I especially looked forward to the ritualistic summer Sunday visits to Imperial and couldn't wait to hold that chilled glass in my hands. The star fruit in India was mango of course, but strawberries were a rare addition when available. The burst of fresh, juicy fruits with lusciously creamy ice-cream or custard was party in my mouth.

With those pictures from childhood in mind, I decided to make a trifle with the gorgeous seasonal organic berries from the Farmer's Market this weekend. I should confess that I stretched the definition a bit and took the liberty of calling my no-cake, no whipped cream dessert 'trifle'. Why get caught up in terminology though, when the end product is the same satisfying layers of succulent fruits and a creamy component no short on taste? The strawberries, blueberries and blackberries were so fresh and juicy that I wanted them to stand up for themselves. A little bit of sugar to enhance their sweetness, some lowfat yogurt to keep it nutritious, and mere 15-20 minutes of prep time, and I was already indulging in a refreshing summer creation. Some lemon zest in the yogurt added a pop of flavor and brightened the entire dish. With a busy schedule on Sunday and a diminishing pantry supply, this trifle turned into my Sunday Supper. I wasn't complaing after enjoying a large glassful of this on a sweltering August afternoon! 

Triple Berry Trifle with Honey-Lemon Yogurt

Ingredients:

2 Cups mixed berries - You can use your favorite kind, I used blueberries, blackberries & strawberries
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Cup yogurt

1 Lemon

1 Tablespoon honey 

• Clean the berries. Cut the strawberries into fours. Sprinkle sugar on the berries and keep aside.
• Strain the yogurt to thicken it slightly. Beat it with a spoon so it's smooth and creamy.
• Add zest of one large lemon and a tablespoon of honey to the yogurt and mix well. Honey was great to sweeten the yogurt slightly and mixed in easily.
• To assemble it, add a few blueberries to the bottom of your glass/cup, add a layer of the yogurt. Repeat this with strawberries and then blackberries. You can layer them in any order you like, but the result is the same delicious trifle! 

I would've liked the yogurt to be thicker so it wouldn't have seeped into the fruits so much. Straining it a little more would've helped, but I could hardly wait to eat. I was still very happy with the end result and will be making this more often. It'll be a great dessert to serve at summer parties as you can make it well in advance and refrigerate. The individual personal cups/glasses make it more fun.

I still had two baskets of Strawberries left and hubby demanded a jam! Stay tuned for a great jam recipe with a twist!