[Food Tip: Stock up on fresh berries when in season and less expensive. Spread them unwashed on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen, you can transfer them to freezer bags. In the winter, they are a refreshing addition to desserts, salads, and smoothies. They also make a great garnish for roast chicken, pork tenderloin, and duck or Cornish game hens.]
Make the pudding and cake ahead of time, assemble in the evening, and let this dessert blend its flavors overnight or through the day and you have a delicious dessert for company or family with no last-minute preparation. If you want to splurge, use real whipped cream instead of the dessert topping (this adds 24 more calories and two grams of saturated fat per serving). Bake the leftover cake mix and freeze to use for strawberry shortcake at a later date. An extra bonus, this desserts supplies a third of your day’s need for vitamin C and 25 percent of your daily requirement for calcium and vitamin B2.
Ingredients:
cooking spray
1 box commercial white or yellow cake mix (French Vanilla works especially well)
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup liquid egg substitute
2/3 cups water
1 (4.6-ounce) box vanilla pudding
2 cups fat-free evaporated milk
1 cup nonfat milk
2 (16-ounce) bags frozen mixed berries (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries), thawed
1 (50-ml) bottle Grand Marnier
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest, finely grated
1 cup fat-free whipped topping
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
Directions:
Spray a bread pan with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1) Place cake mix, oil, egg substitute, and water in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes (or stir by hand for 3 minutes). Don’t overbeat. Pour enough batter into bread pan that it fills pan half way up the sides. (You will have about 1/3 of batter left over, which you can bake in a separate pan for later use.) Bake for 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool completely. Cut 7 slices of cake, each 2/3 inch thick (discard the remaining 1/4 of cake).
2) Make pudding according to directions on box, except use evaporated milk and nonfat milk. Pour into bowl, cover with plastic wrap so that top does not form a skin, and refrigerate until completely cool.
3) Place berries in a colander and drain some of the excess juice. Place berries in a large bowl and mix with Grand Marnier, sugar, and lemon juice. Set aside.
4) Assemble the trifle in a 2 1/2 quart glass serving bowl. Arrange half the cake pieces snugly in the bottom of the bowl (break them into pieces if needed). Spoon half the berries with their juices over the cake slices. Spoon half the pudding over the berries and spread evenly to coat top. Repeat ending with pudding. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to one day.
5) Just before serving, top trifle with dollops of dessert topping and sprinkle with almonds. Makes 12 servings.
Nutritional Analysis per serving: 330 Calories; 22 percent fat (8 grams); 1 gram saturated fat; 10 percent protein; 66 percent carbohydrate; 3.3 grams fiber.
