Strawberry-Lemon Trifle

Lemon Filling:

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

6 large egg yolks

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

2 pints strawberries

Fallen Angel Food Cake (see note at end of cake recipe)

Strawberry Sauce

One 2-quart glass serving bowl

To make the lemon filling, bring the lemon juice, sugar, and butter to a boil in a nonreactive saucepan over low heat.  Meanwhile, whisk the yolks in a medium bowl.  Whisk one-third of the lemon mixture into the yolks.  Return the remaining lemon mixture to a boil over low heat and whisk in the yolk mixture.  Continue whisking constantly until the mixture is thickened and just at a boil.  Pour into a bowl, press plastic wrap against the surface and chill.  Immediately before assembling the dessert, whip the cream and fold it into the lemon curd. 

To assemble, rinse the berries, and reserve one or several to use for decoration.  Hull and slice the remaining berries.  Slice the cake into thin slices.  Place a layer of cake in the bottom of the glass bowl. Moisten the cake with the strawberry sauce, and strew with one-third of the sliced berries.  Spread with one-third of the lemon filling.  Repeat the pattern, ending with a final layer of lemon filling.  Top with one or more reserved whole berries.

Store in the refrigerator.  Serve with a large spoon.

Serves about 10.

From Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri, with some changes