Inspiration: a beautiful trifle made with French madeleines, cherries, sweetened cream and dark chocolate!

LONGING FOR SPRING
For some reason, spring is not really setting in just yet here in the Netherlands. Full of anticipation, I pull open my bedroom curtains every morning hoping to be greeted by the sight of blue skies, but alas, more often than not, it’s gray I wake up to. I long for brighter days again — everything just looks so much prettier when the sun shines!
I am also very much looking forward to seeing more color at the market again. Though bright pink rhubarb and the first green asparagus have made their appearance, I am craving the sunny taste of strawberries, raspberries, peaches and cherries. In fact, those cravings are so intense that I have been sneakily resorting to using jars of fruit. I know, I can be very impatient sometimes.
I created the following easy recipe when I found myself dreaming of those deep burgundy (almost black) cherries I once purchased at a roadside stall somewhere in Provence. They were so fleshy, so sweet and so memorable that I can still taste (and smell!) them to this day. Admittedly, the cherries used here are not quite the same, but nevertheless, this beautiful dessert was exactly what I was looking for. Hope you like it as much as we do!

PS: If you want to make the madeleines yourself, you can find my receipe here. And if you’re in the mood for savory madeleines, have a look here!

 

French Madeleine & Cherry Trifle
Serves 3

Ingredients:

  • 100ml crème fraîche d’Isigny
  • 2 sachet vanilla sugar (8g)
  • 125ml cream
  • 1 small jar cherries in syrup, drained (you will need 4 tbsps of the syrup and 6 tbsps of the cherries)
  • 6 Bonne Maman madeleines, chopped (I chopped each one into 8 pieces)
  • dark chocolate

 

Instructions:
Put the crème fraîche in a bowl and loosen it with a fork. Whip the cream with the vanilla sugar until stiff. Fold the whipped cream through the crème fraîche. Place the chopped madeleines in a shallow dish and drizzle with the 4 tbsps of cherry syrup. To assemble the dessert, place a layer of madeleine bits in each glass. Top with 1 tbsp of cherries and half of the cream. Grate in some dark chocolate and repeat with one more layer, ending with the grated chocolate.