Mini Pina Colada Trifle

 

We loved this dessert served at The Wynn in Las Vegas and it brought back all our buffet memories.

Ingredients

For Cake

* All Purpose Flour - 1/2 cup

* Corn Starch - 1/2 cup

* Baking powder - 1 tsp

* Salt - a pinch

* Eggs - 4 nos [At room temperature]

* Sugar - 3/4 cup

* Butter - 1/4 cup [melted]

* Vanilla Extract - 2 tsp

For Cream layer

* Heavy Whipping Cream - 200 ml

* Cream Cheese - 4 tbsp [At room temperature]

* Vanilla Extract - 2 tsp

* Sugar - 1/2 cup [increase/decrease as per your interest]

For Fruit layer

* Pineapple [chopped] - 3 cups

* Unsweetened dessicated Coconut Flakes - 4-5 tbsp

Cooking

For Cake

1. Sift All Purpose Flour, Corn Starch, Salt and Baking powder onto a dry bowl. Keep aside.

2. Line a Cupcake pan with Cupcake baking cups.

3. In a large bowl, add the Eggs, Sugar, Vanilla Extract and beat with a hand-mixer for about 10-15 mins or until pale in color and fluffy in texture.

4. Add the melted Butter [lukewarm temperature] slowly into the beaten Egg mixture. Keep whisking. This constitutes the wet mixture.

5. Add the sifted Flour mixture into the wet mixture. Whisk gently until all the ingredients are incorporated thoroughly. Do not over-beat at this stage.

6. Pour the Cake mixture into the lined Cupcake pan and place in a preheated Oven at 325 Degree Fahrenheit for 20-25 mins.

7. Check the center of the Cupcake to check if it is done with a skewer. If it returns clean without wet dough, it is done.

8. Remove the Cupcake pan from the Oven and let it cool down to room temperature.

9. Once cooled, slice them roughly into bite-size pieces for layering. Keep aside.

For Cream layer

1. In a large bowl, add the Cream Cheese, Sugar and Vanilla extract. Mix well with a whisk.

2. Add the cold Whipping Cream into the Cream Cheese mixture. Using a hand-mixer, whisk for 7-10 mins or until the Cream holds stiff peaks.

3. If needed, transfer the Cream mixture into a piping bag with a tip of your choice.

For Assembly

*  Add the sliced Cake and pineapple pieces. Layer with the Cream and top with the Coconut flakes.

Repeat for another layer as per the serving bowl or glasses used.

Note

* Unsweetened dessicated Coconut is different from the sweetened variety.

* The bowl and whisk used for whisking Cream should be cold in order to aid in the whipping of the Cream.

* The melted Butter should be lukewarm and the Eggs should be at room temperature in order to avoid curdling.

*  I used Cupcake pans since I was slicing them to add as layer. Any other pans can also be used as per personal preference. But do note to adjust baking time accordingly.