Frost Strawberry Trifle

_{TW: Mentions of transphobia}

The frost strawberry trifle is a delicacy given at the end of a transition meal, dedicated to transgender people officially transitioning into their correct gender. The meal ends with a small dessert given to the transgender person and contains the seeds of a special plant that will correct their body, whether that be male, female, nonbinary, etc.
The most challenging ingredient to get are frost strawberries, which are either wild grown or cultivated, but always mature on icy bushes near ice nettle trees or at the base of mountains, and look like regular strawberries but gives minty-fresh breath after consuming one.

Execution

After the main meal service, dessert is served to all present for the ritual. Those undergoing the ritual are served a frost strawberry trifle in a gold dish, while onlookers are served trifles in glass dishes. The difference between these two dish containers is that the gold dish contains a trifle with one extra ingredient that would help the ritual subject transition into the gender they are more comfortable with.
Ritual participants are encouraged to eat the treat from the top down. The whipped cream at the top is bitter, representing the experience of being trapped in the wrong gendered body. The treat becomes sweeter as the eater finishes the bottom layer, representing the completion of the person's transition.

Recipe

Make the pudding

Place the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan and whisk together, breaking up any clumps in the sugar or starch. Add the eggs and egg yolk and whisk until completely smooth. Whisk in the milk and cream. Heat over medium heat, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, until the mixture thickens and bubbles around the edge, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract.

Cool the pudding

Pour the finished pudding into a shallow pan. Place a layer of plastic wrap directly onto the custard, and chill for at least 2 hours before building the trifle.

Make the syrup

Combine the sugar, water, and vanilla bean seeds in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until thickened slightly about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

For the Ritual Subject

When combining the sugar, water, and vanilla bean, one extra ingredient is added in - seeds from the prickly thousand-seal. The seeds are seen as magickal and bounce off the desires of the ritual subject. It is believed that imagining what their body should look like helps with the transition.

The seeds have been crushed, and the juices collected, mixed in with the other ingredients to make a special syrup that allows one to transition. Thanks to the sugar, the bitterness of the seeds' juice are counteracted.

Make the whipped cream

Mix the gelatin and water in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to bloom. Microwave the gelatin until melted, 7 to 10 seconds. Place the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. (Alternatively, use an electric hand mixer or hand whisk and a large bowl.) Beat to soft peaks. With the mixer running or whisking, pour the gelatin and whip to stiff peaks.

Build the trifle

Start with an even layer of pound cake in the bottom of a 2-quart trifle dish or clear glass bowl. Drizzle the cake with 1/2 cup of vanilla syrup. Spoon 1/3 of the vanilla pudding onto the pound cake, gently pressing to force the pudding between the pieces, then smoothing into an even layer. Top evenly with 1/3 of the strawberries, placing as many against the glass as possible for a beautiful presentation. Top with 1/3 of the whipped cream. Repeat with the layering twice more: pound cake, vanilla syrup, pudding, strawberries, and whipped cream.

Garnish and refrigerate

Sprinkle the top of the trifle with any extra cake pieces - or crumbs - and strawberries. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Storage

The leftover trifle can be stored loosely covered in the fridge for up to 3 days, after which it will still be edible, but the cake will be very soggy and the pudding will become looser, soaking up the whipped cream and syrup.

Table of Contents

---

by NastasyaDay (Pixabay)

---

Quick Facts

Celebration Date:

Held once a month

Known Locations:

The Blue Desert
The Deep Waters Region
The Silver Forest
The White Mountains
The Winter Plains

Related Species:

Any, but mainly werewolves and shapeshifters.

---

Culture of the Moonlight Expanse

It is noted that within the Moonlight Expanse, some communities do not recognize this meal as proper and try to overthrow it, viewing it as harmful to the current body. Other communites that shun these views openly express their happiness and usually have a few dedicated farms that produce the ingredients used to make the trifle. This can result in semi-violent protests and arguments between communities, with the transphobic people trying to destroy crops and other areas where the ingredients are made.

Observance

While this is held once a month, it is always centered around the beginning of the month to focus on new beginnings and fresh starts.
In the event that a ritual subject is afraid to come out to their family, they are allowed to seek "council" with their Alpha, if he is supportive of them. This council is a meeting between the ritual subject and the Alpha, where the Alpha will give the ritual subject a place of refudge in the Alpha Cabin until they can afford a place to live on their own. If the ritual subject is under sixteen years of age, they will stay in the Alpha Cabin until they are sixteen.

Participants

• Trans person
• Supportive family members
• Medical personal

---

Ingredients

For the vanilla pudding:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the vanilla simple syrup:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

For the whipped cream:

1/2 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons water
2 cups very cold heavy cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For building the trifle:

1 1/2 pounds strawberries, trimmed and quartered
1 1/2 pounds day-old pound cake, cubed

---