Apple Snow Trifle

12 Mar 2017

I have a few strange cookbooks in my collection and one is a collection of recipes from fancy Virginian housewives in the 1800s. The recipes are basically useless because they are very brief and it was before standard measuring tools. Some ingredients I have never heard of or are not available, but I use it mostly to learn and as a starting place.

The most interesting take away for me when studying this era of cooking is that it seems cooks then were much more skilled than your average cook now. They didn't idly follow guides, they had their own experiences and were taught by their elders (a dying trend in our culture). They mastered a limited selection of dishes and made them over and over again. They also didn't have a world of ingredients at their finger tips, so they had to get creative. This, I am sure, is the reason for one old fashioned concoction - apple snow.

Just the name, "apple snow," sounds so lovely. But I am sure the creation of this dish went something like - "I have apples, eggs and sugar...go"! It is a dessert essentially made from frothed egg whites (meringue), sugar and apples stewed to the consistency of applesauce and then whipped into the meringue. In further research, it sounds like it is sometimes served with shortbread cookies or by itself.

I decided it seemed too simple to eat alone, so I created this trifle recipe that includes rum-soaked cinnamon pound cake and caramel mousse. After making the apple snow, it is indeed delicious on it's own, but if you were to prepare it for a group this day and age, it might not be enough.

Apple Snow Trifle

Recipe for apple snow trifle - layers include caramel mousse, cinnamon pound cake topped with apple snow and a bruleed apple slice" id="Recipe for apple snow trifle - layers include caramel pot de creme, cinnamon pound cake topped with apple snow and a bruleed apple slice
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Apple Snow Trifle

Prep time: - Cook time: - Total time:
Yield: 6-8S

Ingredients

*This is a great make ahead recipe/do in stages because each item has a wait time*
For Cinnamon Pound Cake (it's really a half pound cake)
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs (room temperature)
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1.5 t cinnamon
- 1 t vanilla

For Rum Sauce
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup rum

For Caramel Mousse
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 T unsalted butter (room temperature and cut into pats
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (room temperature)
- 1 t salt
- 1.5 t powdered gelatin
- 2 T cold water
- 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream

For Apple Snow
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water

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Directions

For Cinnamon Pound Cake
Preheat oven 350F and spray a standard loaf pan with cooking spray.

Beat butter until creamy, then add sugar and beat for about 8 - 10 minutes so that it is light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time and mix each one completely before adding the next.

Then add cinnamon and vanilla and mix for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy again.

Add flour slowly, mix just until incorporate (do not overmix).
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes (or until cake tester comes out clean).

Let cool completely, then cut into chunks to layer with mousse.

For Caramel Mousse
Make caramel: Heat sugar in a medium heavy saucepan one med-high. Whisk as sugar melts, it will turn and amber color when it is done.

Be sure to keep whisking so that it does not burn.

When the sugar is amber (caramelized) add the butter and do so with care because it will bubble vigorously, then remove from heat.

Once it stops bubbling and steaming, whisk and add in 1/2 cup of room temperature cream and salt and then set aside to cool.

While caramel is cooling, mix gelatin and cold water in a small bowl and let soften for about 1 minute, then whisk into warm caramel.

Next, beat heavy whipping cream until it reaches stiff peaks and then fold in caramel mixture.

Chill in refrigerator for at least two hours and then assemble trifles.

For Apple Snow
Peel apples and very thinly slice.

Place apples in pot with about 1 cup of water and cook on low until mushy.

While apples are cooking, stir and heat 1 cup sugar, water and cream of tartar in a small pot, .

Attach candy thermometer to pot and heat sugar mixture until almost 240F.

In the meantime, beat egg whites until stiff peak forms, add 1 T sugar once peaks begin to form.

Once sugar arrives at indicated temperature, pour into egg whites in thin stream slowly, while beating on medium/medium-high.

Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla.

Pour apples over a fine mesh strainer to get rid of any remaining water, then mash and beat into meringue.

Pour into flat dish and cool for a couple hours.

Final assembly
Make rum sauce: Heat all ingredients in medium saucepan until sugar is dissolved.

Cut pound cake into cubes and toss in rum sauce.

Layer cake in trifle glasses of choice.

Next layer mousse and you could repeat with cake and another mousse layer if desired.

Then top with apple snow.

Optional: Thinly slice an apple add a layer of sugar over slice and brulee each side with a kitchen torch or top with dash of cinnamon.

Enjoy!

Enjoy!

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