How to Make an English Trifle
"It's just a trifle" was what the cook said when I asked what would be for dessert. In England, this fabulous dessert is served on special occassions but it is anything but "just" anything. It takes quite a while to make it but it is well worth the time and effort. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 1 large glass or crystal bowl
- 1 pound cake- buy it ahead or make your own
- 4 cups of strawberries or other berries
- 1 cup brandy
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1 box of custard mix and the ingredients listed on the box
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- strainer
- electric mixer
Instructions
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1
Slice the strawberries and place them in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Stir. The sugar will interact with the sliced berries to form a syrup. (If you use other berries, you don't need to slice them but you do need to add sugar.) Add one cup of brandy to the bowl. Set the bowl aside while you prepare the other ingredients.
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2
Follow the directions on the box to make the custard. If the mix requires you to cook the custard, do not leave the pot- stir constantly to prevent the custard from sticking or getting lumpy. Allow the cooked custard to cool at least to room temperature before assembling the English Trifle.
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3
Whip the heavy cream into whipped cream. Place very cold heavy cream into a chilled bowl. Beat it with the electric mixer set on high. The cream will thicken. Add 1/3 cup of powdered sugar slowly while you are beating the cream. Keep beating the cream until it begins to form peaks that don't collapse when you remove the beaters. Then don't continue to beat the cream or it may become butter.
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4
Strain the soaked berries to separate them from the syrup. Keep both the berries and the syrup. Place the strained berries into the glass or crystal bowl. Now you will layer other ingredients on top of the berries so that they look pretty.
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5
Slice the pound cake into 1/2 inch pieces and fit them like a jigsaw puzzle on top of the berries so that the whole bowl is covered with pound cake. Then pour the saved syrup over the pound cake. It will soak into the cake while the berries will form more syrup beneath the cake. Completely cover the pound cake with the cooled custard. Then cover the custard with the whipped cream.
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6
Cover the English Trifle and place it in the refrigerator for about 2 hours before serving. Serve this dessert in bowls but make sure that each serving contains a portion from each of the layers. It's just a trifle!
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Comments
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emmy64
Dec 25, 2010
This looks lovely. Just a couple of points from an English point of view. In England we don't put sugar in whipped cream as it is usually being eaten with something else really sweet; the fresh and light taste of the cream is used to complement the sweetness of the other ingredients, such as the jam/syrup, jelly, fruit and custard used to make the traditional English trifle. We often also soak the fruit in sherry to make sherry trifle, if you want something a little more sophisticated for an adults' gathering. We also often use ladies fingers (which may be dry and need soaking in the syrup or jelly - the same as jello in the US) and the are set low down in the dish with the fruit. I will have to try your pound cake idea sometime. Thank you!
