Individual Cherry Almond Trifles

I am a  huge fan of individual desserts, there's no cutting, and everyone gets one! Sounds perfect to me. This dessert is being posted as part of the Improv Challenge this month (more on that below). Cherries are starting to be on sale at the grocery stores around here which is exciting to me. Cherry is one of my favorite flavors, although of course the artificial cherry flavor is nothing compared to the sweet and juicy actual cherries. For this dessert I used a blend of red cherries and Rainier cherries and I think it worked out really well. I also thought it would be fun to use almond angel food cake instead of plain angel food cake.

The idea for these is based on the Improv Challenge this month which is hosted by Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker. Each month there are two different items listed and we are challenged with creating a recipe with them. In a previous challenge I made this. This month's challenge is to create a recipe made with almonds and cherries. I chose to use fresh cherries and sliced almonds to make these adorable trifles. I also used almond angel food cake, as I mentioned earlier and it added a nice flavor.

You could use any soft of yogurt for these but I'm a big fan of non-fat plain Greek yogurt because it can be flavored or sweetened with anything. I used brown sugar but you could use honey or agave nectar if you wanted to. I also mixed in some vanilla bean paste because I love the speckles in a a dessert, and they add flavor of course :).

The pan I used is this nonstick jelly roll pan from Williams-Sonoma, in case you were wondering who makes a 10" x 15" jelly roll pan. I'm sure you can find one that is similar in size to use, or you could always bake the cake in ungreased cupcake pans and it should turn out fine. I have successfully baked angel food cupcakes like these many times. I should probably mention that I like to toast almonds in my toaster oven on the "toast" setting but you could also toast them in a 325F oven for 5-7 minutes usually. The key is to watch them really close because you don't want them to burn. When you start to smell them then they are done or almost done. There is barely any brown color on the ones  toasted but they still taste toasted and have a little golden color to them. As always, if you have any questions or thoughts please ask or let me know :). Happy Baking!

Individual Cherry Almond Trifles

Makes 4

Ingredients:

- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sliced almonds

- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

- ½ cup sifted all-purpose flour

- ¼ cup powdered sugar

- ¼ teaspoon salt

- 5 large egg whites

- ⅔ teaspoon cream of tartar

- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar

- ¾ teaspoon almond extract

- 1-1 ½ cups plain non-fat Greek yogurt

- 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar

- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

- 1-1 ½ pounds pitted cherries

- Whipped cream, if desired

- ¼ cup toasted almond slices

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325F. In a food processor blend together the almonds and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar until finely chopped. In another bowl, sift together the flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Stir the almond mixture into the flour mixture and set aside.

2. In a large mixer bowl beat the egg whites at high speed until they become foamy. Add in the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks. Add the 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until soft peaks form.

3. Gently fold in ¼ of the flour mixture at a time into the egg whites. Fold in the almond extract. Fold until completely blended being sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl but do not overmix or the mixture could deflate.

4. Spread the mixture into an ungreased 10” x 15” jelly roll pan and smooth so it is even. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until the cake begins to come away from the edges and springs back when touched lightly. Cool completely.

5. In a small bowl mix together the yogurt, brown sugar, and vanilla until well blended.

6. Cut out circles in the cake with a cookie cutter according to the size of the dishes you are using. Layer the cake, yogurt mixture, and cherries in a bowl. Top with whipped cream (if desired) and toasted almonds. Serve. 

Printable recipe

This is an original recipe

This recipe may be linked up to:

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· Crazy For Crust - Crazy Sweet Tuesday’s
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· Sweet as Sugar Cookies - Sweets for a Saturday 
· Mandy's Recipe Box - Totally Tasty Tuesday's

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· House of Hepworth's - Hookin up with HoH 

· Cups by Kim - Sweet & Simple Sunday  

· Couponing & Cooking - Mealtime Monday 

· What's Cooking, Love? - Showcase Your Talent Thursday 

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· Six Sister's Stuff - Strut Your Stuff Saturday

· Something Swanky: Desserts & Designs - Sweet Treats Thursday 

· A Slice of Southern - Southern Sundays 

· Me and My Sweets - My Sweet Party