Fancy Three-layer Dessert Cream
A Delicious and Easy Dessert Served In A Wineglass
This three-layer dessert cream served in a wineglass makes a classy ending for a meal, whether you're holding a dinner party or just want to impress your family. It doesn't take long to make, just some time for the individual layers to cool down before assembling. You can make it earlier in the day and cover the glasses with saran wrap.
Use red or white wine glasses, sparkling wine glasses are too small. If you do not have suitable wine glasses, you can use dessert bowls or normal glasses. Because they are bigger than wineglasses, you may want to double the recipe.
This recipe makes four portions (if served in wineglasses).
Layer #1 (rhubarb)
- 2/3 of a cup of rhubarb, finely chopped
- 2/3 of a cup of water
- 2-3 tbsp sugar
- 2.5 tbsp cornstarch
Mix the cornstarch with a small amount of cold water and set aside. Boil the rhubarb pieces and sugar in the rest of water until the result is soft and mushy. Check the taste to see if you need to add more sugar. It is alright if the result is slightly tart, because the other creams will be sweet.
Slowly pour in the cornstarch mixture while stirring. Let thicken for a few seconds, then lift the pan off the stove.
Layer #2 (vanilla)
- 1 cup milk or non-dairy milk, preferably not fat-free
- sugar and vanilla extract/vanilla sugar/vanilla syrup to taste, a few teaspoons
- 2.5 tbsp of cornstarch
Mix the sugar and vanilla into the milk and check the taste, adding more if needed. The amounts depend on the type of vanilla extract/syrup/sugar you're using.
Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Use a non-stick pan if possible. After it begins to boil and thickens, lift it off the stove.
Layer #3 (berry)
- 1 cup berry juice (if using juice concentrate, dilute it normally)
- 2.5 tbsp cornstarch
- (frozen strawberries, sliced)
Stir the corn starch into the juice until completely dissolved. It will look cloudy, but clears up when cooked. Prepare it like layer #2. Add the frozen berries in the end, if using.
Assembling
Let the creams cool down to at least room temperature. They will thicken some more when cooling. Take layer #1 and spoon it into the wine glasses, trying to avoid staining the edges of the glasses. Spoon layer #2 on top of it and follow with layer #3.
Decorating
You can decorate the dessert with sliced berries or fruit (either placed on top of the cream or on the edge of the glass), edible flowers or a lemon balm leaf, though it looks quite fancy as it is.
Adaptations
If rhubarb is not available to you or is out of season, you can replace it with fruit. E.g. mango or pineapple works well (prepare it like layer #3), though the colors won't be as beautiful as the white-green-red combination in the original recipe.
Special diets
Corn starch is gluten-free, as are almost all starches used for thickening. If you use a non-dairy milk (soy milk, rice milk or almond milk), the dessert becomes lactose-free and vegan. You can replace all or some of the sugar with stevia or another sweetener to lower the amount of calories further.
