English Trifle

I came across these lovely luscious raspberries last weekend, and couldn't resist not buying them. I was undecided on what to do with them; all I know is, I want them. Ideas battled in my head, from raspberry pie to Nigella's raspberry chocolate pavlova to just simply eating them fresh with whipped cream. In the end, English trifle allured me most.

Trifle was created centuries ago as a way to utilize old cakes. Trifle has certainly been a fabulous invention that it has become a main stream dessert. People are now purposely baking or buying sponge cakes to be able to make a trifle.

Trifle is made of pieces of sponge cake soaked in fortified wine like sherry, and topped with fresh fruits, custard and whipped cream. It is quite a flexible dessert; you can play up with the flavour of the sponge as well as the fruits and custard. You can also be adventurous with your alcohol by using liqueurs or liquors, or if you opt to be conservative, fruit juice will do. Nowadays, people even add gelatin into their trifle. It's a matter of preference.

As for my trifle. I used a plain sponge and sandwiched it with raspberry jam. Then, I soaked my sponge with plum wine, topped it with fresh raspberries, chocolate custard and whipped cream. A sprinkle of toasted sliced almonds for the garnish.

It was a really lovely dessert; it's like heaven in a glass. Not only does it taste divine; it looks absolutely spectacular especially when made in a glass trifle bowl. But since I'm only baking for two, I used wine glasses. I still got the effect of that of a trifle bowl, but in a rather chic and romantic individual serving.

Components used for this dessert treat:

• Toasted Almonds
• Whipped Cream
• Chocolate Custard
• Fresh Raspberries
• Plum Wine
• Raspberry Jam
• Plain Sponge Cake

Bisou bisou,

Charlotte