'AFFIRMATIVE' GARDEN WHITE BLOOMING FRIDAY~ 'WINTER WHITE' CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TRIFLE

"White ... is not a mere absence of colour;

it is a shining and affirmative thing,

as fierce as red, as definite as black....

God paints in many colours;

but He never paints so gorgeously,

I had almost said so gaudily, as when He paints in white."

~ Gilbert Keith Chesterton

[British author, 1874–1936]

“A Piece of Chalk,” Tremendous Trifles (1909)

~ White Garden Wonders

(Annabelle hydrangea, astilbe, Yoshino cherry blossoms, Rose of Sharon bud, white poinsettia, tulip, daisy, trillium, bloodroot, iris, candytuft, (center ~ Yoshino cherry branch), viburnum, peony, lily, lily of the valley, African violet, dogwood, Queen Anne's lace, anenome, phlox, anthurium, hosta, English Daisy, Kousa dogwood

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WHITE RASPBERRY TRIFLE

~ 'Winter white' classic dessert slightly adapted from clipped from Bon Appetit (2005)

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3 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided

12 ounces high-quality chopped white chocolate

1 1/4 teaspoons almond extract, divided

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water (or Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur)

7 ounces crisp lady fingers ~ Boudoirs or Champagne biscuits

(or 7-8 oz. sliced pound cake)

1 cup raspberry jam, melted, divided

1 1/2 12-ounce packages frozen unsweetened raspberries, divided

2 6-ounce containers fresh raspberries

3/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

• Bring 1 cup cream to simmer in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add white chocolate; whisk until smooth. Cool to barely lukewarm, about 10 minutes. Beat 2 1/2 cups cream and 1/2 teaspoon extract in large bowl to soft peaks. Fold in white chocolate mixture.
• Stir sugar and 1/2 cup water (or Chambord liqueur) in small saucepan over medium heat until sugar melts. Mix in 3/4 teaspoon extract; remove syrup from heat. Quickly submerge 1 biscuit (or sliced pound cake) in syrup; shake excess back into pan. Place dipped biscuit (or cake) in bottom of 14-cup trifle dish. Repeat with enough biscuits to cover bottom of dish.
• Spread 1/3 of melted jam over biscuits in dish. Top with 1/3 of partially thawed berries with juices. Spread 1/3 of whipped chocolate cream over. Repeat layering with dipped biscuits (cake), melted jam, partially thawed berries, and whipped chocolate cream 2 more times. Mound fresh berries in center of trifle. Sprinkle almonds around edge. Cover and chill at least 5 hours and up to 24 hours. (10 servings)