This dessert reminds me the ones that all the mums were making for kids birthday parities when I was a child. Simple, easy to make with basic ingredients (apart from mascarpone that didn’t exist in my childhood), looking kind of fancy and extra in the same time. Any of the kids party couldn’t have been done without jelly (inevitably in at least two different colours), whipped cream and fruits dessert, served in separate glasses one for each guest. And I think it’s still great idea for kids parties (and obviously adults too).

So I decided to make this kind of jelly and whipped cream based dessert with strawberries, adding pack of mascarpone for a nice twist (I love mascarpone). You can serve it in separate glasses or in one big glass dish, as I did. I have to admit I didn’t think this through, I thought I will be able to place more than one layer of jelly. But when I placed strawberries on the bottom and covered it with mix of whipped cream and mascarpone, I’ve noticed that I don’t have that much space left. While I still had quite a lot of jelly. So I decided to make this elegant jelly blob on top. In this case maybe don’t follow my layering process in exact same way, or do it if you don’t mind this cute lump of jelly on top. And also because my glass dish isn’t that big, I’ve been left with some leftovers of jelly and whipped cream mix, but thnat’s not a problem. I’ve used another fancy small glass dish and made a small portion with jelly on the bottom then, couple spoons of cream and chopped strawberries on top.

For this recipe I’ve used no sugar jelly and some xylitol, so I could keep it keto appropriate, but obviously you can use regular jelly and sugar if you don’t mind your sugar intake. Although no sugar version won’t make your insulin levels jump up to the sky. After eating sweets, the level of sugar in our body increases rapidly. The level of insulin, which ‘digests’ sugars, also increases rapidly, and just as they have risen, they drop so quickly and when sugar suddenly drops we feel hunger for sweets. This creates a vicious circle and each piece of something sweet drives another. The effect of “energy injection” appears but is very short-lived. If you eat a lot of sweets and you think you might be addicted to them (which you might not know until you actually stop eating them) it’s a great idea to challenge yourself and give yourself a month of being sugar free. You will be surprised when you see, that when you will dishabituate from eating sweets, that they actually may not exist after some time. Also you might notice after some time that that if you’re fancy of something sweet, not every sweet thing you’ll like. After longer period of time your taste might change and not only some of the sweets will be too sweet for you, but also they might not taste good at all.

If you’d like to challenge yourself with cutting the sweets, I recommend not replacing them immediately with sugar free sweets. Having a break from sweet taste for some time can actually change your taste and attitude to sweeties. Also very important – if you have any kind of health issues, especially diabetes or other health problem consult with your doctor first if you want to stop eating sweets. I don’t recommend any extreme changes in your diet if you have any health issues without consultations with a doctor of dietician. If you have sugar addiction you might notice some unpleasant symptoms being on sugar detox like:

• lower mood and low mood or a lack of enjoyment in things you once found pleasurable
• feelings of anxiousness may also be accompanied by nervousness, restlessness, and irritability
• you might find it hard to fall asleep
• you may find it difficult to concentrate
• you might have a headache
• you might feel dizzy
• you might feel tired

All or some of these symptoms may or may not occur. Withdrawal symptoms can last from a few days to two weeks. The longer your body goes without sugar, the less intense your symptoms and cravings for sugar will be. I know it sound unpleasant, but in my opinion is worth trying to give yourself freedom from sugar that’s appropriating not only your body, but also your wallet. but However I have to say it again: if you have any health issues, consult with your doctor first, to get the confirmation that it’s safe for you.

OK, now let’s go to the recipe.

simple and easy strawberry trifle

INGREDIENTS:

• 250 g mascarpone
• 300ml whipping cream
• 1 sachet sugar free strawberry jelly (to make about 500ml of jelly)
• couple handfuls of strawberries
• 3-4 tsp xylitol or other sugar replacement (you might need to adjust the amount to your taste)

DIRECTIONS

Prepare jelly according to instructions on the packaging. Leave it to completely cool down and place in the fridge.

When you jelly starts to set, but you are still able to kind of pour it, start whipping the cream. Add xylitor or other sweetener of your choice and when it’s whipped add mascarpone and again mix to combine.

I’ve thinly sliced couple of strawberries and attached them to the sides of glass dish, added some more chopped strawberries on the bottom and a layer of cream. Then very gently started adding jelly layer. I’ve used a spoon to place the jelly, because whipped cream and mascarpone mix is quite fluffy and delicate, so if you pour it straight you’ll make a hole in it. You can see that my jelly layer is “contaminated” with cream.

After placing the layer of jelly put the dish to the fridge so it sets. Then add some more chopped strawberries and attach some strawberry slices on the sides, place the cream and finally strawberries on top. And if you want to make a “cute” blob with already set jelly on top, as I did – go for it. Or make your own layering process, because I didn’t think it through to be honest 🙂

You can also instead of placing all ingredients in one big dish, use glasses or other small fancy glass dishes to layer the ingredients.

Enjoy!