Sherry Trifle with Lemon, Thyme and Blueberries

This weekend was a big one for me, I worked with dining details to make desserts for many, many people at a farm to table dinner. I thought I'd share the recipe here, and then in my next post I'll share some of my experiences on my first paid pastry job. I know so many people who feel like working in the culinary industry would be a dream come true, so I'll share a little of my 24 hours 'living the dream'! It was a blast, but I wont lie, it was one of the hardest days of my life. There is no such thing as late with catering, you have to be done in time. Very stressful! Anyway, I thought this dessert came out very well. It can be served in little verrines, like at the party, or I've served it in little clear plastic wine cups. Be very careful when adding thyme to the compote, it can be overpowering.

Sherry trifle with lemon, thyme and blueberries developed with Julie at Dining Details
Joconde
3oz almond meal
2 oz powdered sugar
1 1/4 oz cake flour
3 eggs
3egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/4 oz sugar
1 1/4 oz butter melted
Sift together the almond meal, powdered sugar and cake flour
Beat egg whites with cream of tartar, adding sugar slowly until the eggs reach medium peaks.
Whisk the eggs into the flour mixture, fold the egg white mixture in followed by the butter. Be sure to make sure the butter is integrated, but don’t overmix.
Bake on a parchment lined half sheet pan at 350f convection for 5-7 mins until light brown (conventional oven 375 for 10-15 mins)

Lemon Pastry Cream
1 cup (235 mls) whole milk
1 cup (235 mls) heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
6 tbsp (75 grams) sugar
Zest 2 lemons and juice 1 lemons
Mix the cream, lemon zest, milk and sugar and simmer.
Whisk together the eggs
Slowly pour half of the warm milk mixture into the eggs, whisking vigorously. Pour the egg mixture back into the milk, whisking. Whisk in the lemon juice and simmer until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Pass through a sieve/chinois to remove any lumps and the lemon zest. Cool for 4 hours or overnight.

Blueberry Compote
2 cups blueberries (10 ounces)
1tbsp thyme infused simple syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Mix together the sugar and blueberries and heat until gently simmering. Whisk together the lemon juice and the cornstarch and simmer for a couple of minutes until thickened. Cool.

Almond praline
2 cups sugar
1 cup slivered almonds
Salt to taste
Heat the sugar in a small saucepan until melted, watch it carefully in the pan, swirling until it becomes amber. Add the almonds, mix quickly and pour onto a silpat, spreading out as much as possible.
Assembly:

Cut small circles of the jaconde, put into the shot glass, drizzle with sherry, then add a layer of blueberries, a layer of the pastry cream, then top with a little whipped cream, chopped praline and a few fresh blueberries. For the event I repeated the cake, compote and pastry cream (soaking the cake before assembling).