Ready for a venture of gastronomical proportions!

Passport & Plate - Trans-Pacific Christmas Trifle

New Zealand | Thursday, March 5, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
Brownie mix (without nuts)
2 cups strawberries
1 pint whipping cream
8 oz solid chocolate (Whittaker's is best!)

 

How to prepare this recipe
1.)Bake brownies according to directions. Place on cooling rack
2.)Melt solid chocolate over low heat, stirring in 1/3 of cream. Stir slowly and continuously to prevent sticking and clumping
3.)Whip rest of cream until it forms thick peaks
4.)Cut brownies into bite sized squares
5.)First layer brownies in bottom of serving bowl, then drizzle with melted chocolate. Add a layer of sliced strawberries. Top with cream.
6.)Continue until final layer of cream, then stud with remaining brownie bites and strawberries

 

The story behind this recipe
While spending Christmas on a Dargaville farm 2 hours north of Auckland, I was inspired to combine the kiwi summer treat of strawberries and chocolate into this English-inspired dessert. With strong historical and cultural ties to the U.K, many desserts in New Zealand are thus influenced, with some transformations made by local produce. Strawberries are especially a valuable treat in Aotearoa, with a limited harvest window that runs through December and early January. It is therefore considered a Christmas essential. Whereas the British influence pairs the fruit with cream, kiwis insist it is best complimentary with chocolate. The recipe presented here, drawing upon the cultural exchange of the south pacific and British isles two oceans away, not only combines this valued ingredients, but also draws a link with the other side of the sea.

Strawberries are also a main specialty of California, being one of its most famous exports. A popular format is shortcakes. While traveling through New Zealand, exposed to the every-increasing persistence that it’s chocolate (specifically Aotearoa’s own Whittaker’s), rather than pound cake, which best compliments strawberries, I developed a recipe where the layering continues beyond a cake base and fruit with cream. The chocolate sauce, if prepared correctly, holds up everything between the layers. Use the leftover bars from your Christmas stocking if you like!

I refer to this recipe as Trans-Pacific trifle for a good reason: it reflects special ingredients shared in common between Kiwis and Californians, much like the Pacific rim.