Recipe: Peach Trifle

One of the things I miss most about spending the summer in Alabama would be a food: Chilton County peaches. These ultimate sweet and juicy fruits seriously call into question how it is that Georgia is the peach state and not it's neighbor to the West.

This peach really needs little dress it up for dessert; I find it cruel to alter their flavor by baking them in a cobbler. Instead, for special occasions I prefer to use them in dish that displays their raw flavor. While back in sweet home Alabama, I made this trifle tweaked from a Cooking Light recipe that blends the juices from the peaches a with a light, creamy custard as well as cake.

Peach Trifle

5 cups sliced peeled ripe peaches

4 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/3 cup granulated sugar

4 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 large egg yolks

3 1/3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

2 cups evaporated fat-free milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pounds cake, sliced (I bought mine from Whole Foods.)

Combine peaches, brown sugar, and cinnamon, tossing well to combine; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Combine granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth.

Heat milks in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around edge (do not boil). Gradually add hot milk mixture to sugar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk.

Return the milk mixture to saucepan. Cook mixture over medium heat 2 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla extract.

Spoon the custard into a small bowl. Place the bowl in a large ice-filled bowl for 15 minutes or until the custard is cool (which was significantly longer for me), stirring occasionally. Remove bowl from ice.

Arrange 1/4 pound cake slices in a single layer on the bottom of a trifle bowl. Spoon 1/4 of the peach mixture over cake. Spread 1/4 of custard over peach mixture. Repeat for 3 more layers of each, finishing with the custard. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.