STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE TRIFLE

This is my favorite dessert and one of my signature recipes! So I decided that it would be the perfect recipe to start with. I look forward all year to strawberry season for this heavenly indulgence. If you're a strawberry shortcake fan, I refer to this as strawberry shortcake on steroids. Also, Costco has some very yummy strawberries on sale right now. Perfect timing!

(I didn't have a chance to make this for a picture, so a fun shot of delicious strawberries will have to do.)

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE TRIFLE

2 qt. Strawberries sliced
1 C. sugar divided
2 8oz. pkgs. cream cheese softened
3 T. orange juice or lime juice (I prefer lime squeezed fresh)
3 C. whipped Whipping Cream
1 loaf (10 oz.) pound cake cubed (Sara Lee in the freezer section works great)
1 large chocolate bars grated
chocolate swirls and strawberries to garnish

1. Toss strawberries with ½ C. sugar. Allow to chill in refrigerator until juicy. (About an hour)
2. Cream together the citrus juice, cream cheese and the remainder of the sugar. Add whip cream and blend until creamy. (Make sure you blend the cream cheese, citrus juice and sugar first, or the acid will curdle the whipped cream.)
3. Drain juice off the strawberries and drizzle onto the cake cubes.
4. Layer in trifle bowl as follows:

½ cake cubes on bottom
1/3 cream cheese mixture
½ strawberry mixture
chocolate shavings
the rest of the cake cubes
1/3 cream cheese mixture
the rest of the strawberry mixture
chocolate shavings
the rest of the cream cheese mixture
chocolate shavings
Strawberries to Garnish