Monday, October 12, 2015

It's All About Atmosphere

Themed food is a favorite of mine.  Give me a holiday, sporting event, or cause for celebration (the anniversary of the release of the original Star Wars, say) and I am there.  So, when He Who Is Now Taller Than I came home with an edible assignment from his Physical Science class at Tutorial, I rejoiced.  Perhaps that is an overstatement.  But, there might have been a fist pump involved.

His task was to create an edible (and ideally, tasty) visual representation of the Earth’s atmosphere.  And, let me tell you that nothing says “atmosphere” quite like a trifle. Not just any trifle--we decided on a Death By Chocolate Trifle.  Wahoo--and pass the Cool Whip!

In our search for the perfect base, we brainstormed several ideas.  Crushed graham crackers, chocolate cake, a yummy cookie of some sort.  And on the sixth suggestion, God created the brownie!  Otherwise known as the troposphere.  


 Moving on (or up, as the case may be), the stratosphere was made of two cups chocolate pudding and one cup whipped topping.  Then, we crushed a sleeve of graham crackers to create the ozone layer--which, as we all know, has been destroyed by my generation’s use of Aqua Net and L’Oreal Mega Spritz.  Silly scientists, smog is for kids!



 


The mesophere was also composed of chocolate pudding and whipped topping, in a varied ratio from the stratosphere, one cup of each.  What about the ionosphere, you might ask?  Crushed Oreos, of course.  Then came the thermosphere--a delicious concoction of whipped topping and marshmallow creme (eight ounces and seven ounces, respectively).  And for the exosphere?  Chocolate chips, don’t you know!


Good stuff, great fluff.
Somebody had to "remove" the filling...
Completing the exosphere.
Voila--the atmosphere!
Ready for the close-up.
 Here's the recipe, Pinterest-like, for those who might be interested:

1 box, brownie mix (We used Duncan Hines)
3/4 sleeve, graham crackers, crushed
2 boxes, pudding and pie filling, chocolate fudge, 3.9 oz each
2 containers, whipped topping, 16 oz each
1 bag, Oreos
1 jar, Marshmallow Creme, 7 oz
1 bag, chocolate chips, 16 0z (save some for congratulatory snacking!)
Trifle dish

Troposphere:  Brownie
Stratosphere:  Pudding (2 cups) and whipped topping (1 cup), combined
Ozone:  Crushed graham crackers
Mesophere:  Pudding and whipped topping, 1 cup each, combined
Ionosphere:  Crushed Oreos
Thermosphere:  7 oz (Marshmallow Creme) and 8 oz (whipped topping), combined
Exosphere:  Chocolate chips

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. 

The competition was fierce and the mulitlayer edibles were a-plenty.  I am proud to say that an "A" was earned--and this not-so-trifling trifle also won "Tastiest Project"!  And a $5 Sonic gift card.  To the victor go the spoils.  And the Sonic Blast, apparently.

I just learned that an another edible project is looming on the horizon.  The subject:  layers of the Earth's crust.  We have set the bar high.  

I'm thinking Double-Decker 'Smores.  Yum.  And yum.

 





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