STRAWBERRIES AND LIME SPONGE CAKE WEDDING TRIFLE #recipe @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: Chef Martha Hubbard brings this dessert to serve at Hayley and Nathan’s wedding reception in A DEADLY FEAST by Lucy Burdette. She layers the ingredients in individual-sized mason jars, but you could also serve slices of the cake garnished with whipped cream and strawberries. It would also be nice with raspberries or peaches, depending on what’s in season.

For the strawberry layer:

2 cups hulled and halved or quartered strawberries

Sprinkle of sugar

For the whipped cream layer:

2 cups whipping cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cake:

6 large eggs, separated

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

1½ cups sugar, divided

2 teaspoons grated lime rind

¼ cup lime juice

¼ cup water

1¼ cup flour

¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Sprinkle the strawberries with sugar and set aside.

Whip the cream until stiff with the powdered sugar and vanilla. Put this in the refrigerator while you make the cake.

In a large bowl, combine the egg whites with the cream of tartar and beat with an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks. (You can test this by slowly withdrawing the beaters from the eggs. Soft peaks should stand up with the slightest droop at the top.) Next, gradually add ½ cup of the sugar, beating until whites are stiff but not dry.

In another large bowl, place the separated yolks. Beat them with unwashed beaters until thick. Add the remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until the yolks are very thick and ivory colored.

To the beaten yolks, add the grated lime rind, lime juice, and water, beating until just blended. Beat in the flour and salt at a very low speed. Add the beaten egg whites to this mixture, and fold them in with a rubber spatula—gently.

Turn the cake batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Cut through the batter several times with a knife to break up any air bubbles and then smooth the top.

Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes to an hour. The top of the cake will appear golden and the cake should spring back when lightly touched.

Invert on a wire rack to cool. Loosen cake from the sides of the pan with a spatula. Set on a serving plate.

When the cake is completely cool, cut it into bite-size squares. In small mason jars, alternate squares of cake with strawberries and whipped cream. Refrigerate until it’s time to serve.

​ABOUT A DEADLY FEAST:

Before Key Zest food critic Hayley Snow's family descends on the island for Thanksgiving and her wedding to heart throb Detective Nathan Bransford, she has one last assignment--a review of a seafood tasting tour conducted by her friend Analise Smith. But when one of the tourists collapses on the last stop, Analise begs her to investigate before the police destroy her business and shut down the local Key West eateries on her tour. Pressure mounts when Analise calls a second time to request that Hayley meet with Chef Martha Hubbard, who prepared key lime pies for the tasting tour and is terrified that someone poisoned her pies to ruin her reputation. Chefs all around town are preparing their versions of a Thanksgiving feast, but with a murderer on the loose, will Hayley and her friends have anything left to be thankful for?

Praise for Lucy Burdette's Key West mysteries:​

“There’s a lot to love about this series—deft plotting, likeable characters, and an ending that always satisfies. But one of the things I love the best is how the author transports her readers to Key West with every page, describing real landmarks and restaurants with such realism that I feel I’m actually there. Magical and delicious fun!”

—Suspense Magazine

Clinical psychologist Lucy Burdette (aka Roberta Isleib) has published 17 mysteries, including the latest in the Key West food critic series, A Deadly Feast (Crooked Lane Books, May 2019.)  Read more at https://lucyburdette.com. You can also find Lucy on Facebook and Instagram.