Pear Zuppa Inglese

From Rick Rodgers' Celebrations 101. You need to start making this dessert at least 8 hours before you want to serve it. You need a 3-quart trifle dish.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 1  cup heavy cream
• 3  tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3⁄4 cup  pear juice (or pear nectar)
• 1⁄4 cup golden rum
• 44  dry italian ladyfingers (savoiardi)
• 4  ripe pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 3/4-inch dice (Bartlett, Anjou, or Comice)
• 1⁄2 pint fresh raspberry
• 3 1⁄2 cups  eggnog
• 2⁄3 cup  sliced almonds, toasted

Directions

1. In a chilled mixing bowl, whip the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla using an electric mixer on high speed until the cream is stiff.
2. In a shallow bowl, combine the pear nectar and rum.
3. One at a time, dip the ladyfingers into the pear nectar (do not soak) and stand them in a 3-quart trifle--you will need about 20 ladyfingers.
4. Dip 8 more ladyfingers in the nectar, and break them up into the bowl.
5. Top with half of the pears and raspberries and 8 more dipped and broken ladyfingers.
6. Slowly pour half of the eggnog over the pear-ladyfinger layer.
7. Spread with half of the whipped cream and sprinkle with 1/3 cup almonds.
8. Repeat with the remaining pears and raspberries, ladyfingers (dipped and broken), and eggnog.
9. Spread with the remaining whipped cream.
10. Sprinkle with the remaining almonds.
11. Garnish with fresh raspberries, if desired.
12. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.