Christmas Bunco potluck dinner tonight and I signed up to make a dessert.  It’s pretty easy to make, just a little time consuming.  The contrast of the tang of the cranberry and the lemon paired with the smooth, sweetness of the white chocolate is so delicious!  If you need a fancy dessert for an event, I recommend giving this one a try.  It’s a Pampered Chef recipe from their “Festive Holiday Desserts” cookbook.

Mousse:

1 (12 oz) package white chocolate morsels (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 cup milk

1 cup sour cream

1 (8 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (3 cups)

Cake and Garnish:

1 (16 oz) frozen pound cake or 1 1/2 frozen pound cakes, thawed (I used 2 full pound cakes)

2/3 cup thawed frozen cranberry juice concentrate

1/4 cup lemon juice (I squeezed mine from about 1 1/2 lemons, so much better than that stuff in the bottle)

3 oz vanilla flavored almond bark

powdered sugar (optional)

1  For mousse, place white chocolate morsels and milk in bowl.  Microwave on high 1 – 2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring every 30 seconds.  Cool slightly, 1- 2 minutes.  Whisk in sour cream.  Fold in whipped topping.

2  Trim crusts off cakes to make 8 1/2 x 3 x 1 1/2″ cakes.  Place trimmings in Rotary Grater (cheese grater) and grate evenly over bottom of Springform Pan.  Press crumbs evenly and flat to form crust.  Slice remaining cake into 1/8″ slices (about 60 slices).

3  Combine juice concentrate and lemon juice.  Layer crust with 1/4 of mousse.  Spread evenly.  Arrange about 20 slices of cake over mousse, overlapping as needed to form an even layer.  Brush cake with 1/3 of the cranberry mixture.  Repeat layers two times, ending with cranberry mixture.  Top cranberry mixture with remaining mousse.  Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.

4  Place almond bark on microwave safe plate.  Microwave on high 20 seconds, turning over after 10 seconds (do not melt).  Hold almond bark with a clean kitchen towel and create small curls using a vegetable peeler.  Garnish cake with curls and sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.  Run a knife around sides of cake before removing collar.