they call me domestiCate

Ingredients

6 large egg yolks

1 cup sugar

4 lemons, zested and juiced

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in chunks

1 pint fresh strawberries, stemmed and halved lengthwise

1 pint fresh blueberries

1 pint fresh blackberries

2 cups sweetened whipped cream

1 prepared lemon pound cake, sliced

1/4 cup Limoncello or Grand Marnier liqueur (optional)

Fresh mint leaves, for garnish

Directions

To make the lemon curd: Bring a pot of water to a simmer over medium-low heat. Combine the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a metal or glass heat-resistant bowl and whisk until smooth. Set the bowl over the simmering water, without letting the bottom touch, and continue to whisk. Keep working-out that arm and whisk it vigorously for a good 10 minutes, until the curd has doubled in volume and is very thick and yellow. Don’t let it boil. Remove the bowl from heat and whisk in the butter, a couple of chunks at a time, until melted. Refrigerate until the custard is cold and firm.

To build the trifle: put the berries in a mixing bowl and toss them together so they are evenly distributed. Fold the whipped cream into the chilled lemon curd to lighten it up into a mousse. Line a glass trifle bowl with pieces of pound cake to fit. Drizzle or brush the cake with the Limoncello, spoon a layer of the lemon curd over the cake, and then a layer of mixed berries. Repeat the layers until the ingredients are used up, the last layer looks best if it’s the berries. Chill before serving. Garnish with fresh mint.

I found all of these recipes on foodnetwork.com, which is one of my go-to recipe sources. Just wanted to say, I’m in no way compensated by foodnetwork.com. Or anyone, for that matter.

Good morning! I’m so glad you’re stopping by. If you’re a regular around here (hi mom!), you’ve noticed I haven’t been posting as regularly as I usually do. I’ve been enjoying family time and working on some projects I’ll be sharing with you soon. So, stay tuned!

Today I want to show y’all the little last-minute vignette I put together in our foyer to celebrate Easter weekend.

I pulled out the church I found recently and made up a palm cross for the steeple. This isn’t actually a palm frond, but something similar looking that grows in our yard. Don’t ask me what.

Do y’all read Making Lemonade? Carrie is such a great writer and full of wonderful ideas. She inspired me with a few of her Easter tips. I cleaned the dust off of my big cloche, and gathered together some of my milk glass pieces. She recommended shredding a brown paper bag for Easter basket grass (genius!), but I used it for the “nest.”

We are lucky to have friends who share their farm eggs, and they come in all shades of white and brown. I picked out a few to use for this project and decided to blow out the white and yolk. Have you guys done this before? I had heard of this method, but hadn’t tried it. I simply poked a hole in the top and bottom of a raw egg with a strong pin.

After some trial and error, I figured out it was better to make the bottom hole a bit bigger. So, I wiggled the pin around a little more there. Then, I simply blew on the top hole (over the sink), carefully supporting the egg. I have to say, this took quite a bit of effort. That’s why we only have 4 hollow egg shells. The good news is, if you can store them in a safe place you can use them for years. You could carefully paint or dye or decorate them at this point, but I chose to keep it natural (and easy). I love the “freckles” on that brown egg.

Bonus points if you noticed our spring wreaths in the reflection of the cloche! Our tulips and daffodils are gone in our yard, and the only thing blooming at the moment are the azaleas. The egg cup is from my Grandma’s china. The same china I used for this project in December.

I stacked some marble coasters I picked up thrifting to add height and interest.

On another note, did you guys know that scallop shells are often used in the church as a symbol of baptism and rebirth? I learned this when lil EB was baptised. I have this set of scallop shells that my Grandma kept in her china cabinet. Apparently they were used for baking scallops…here’s Lidia’s recipe. Anyway, I’ve now had them in my china cabinet for years, and finally brought them out, just to look pretty. Perhaps, though, I’ll try this recipe sometime. Looks good!