ENGLISH TRIFLE RECIPE

ENGLISH TRIFLES

From the kitchen of
1870 Banana Courtyard French Quarter/B&B & Beyond
New Orleans, Louisiana

CUSTARD INGREDIENTS

6 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract

CUSTARD DIRECTIONS

Beat eggs in a bowl.
In heavy saucepan, put sugar and cornstarch and whisk well. Whisk in beaten eggs, then the milk. Place pan over moderate heat to cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens (about 4 minutes). CAUTION: If cooked on heat too high, it will curdle or burn and you'll have to start again. After thickened, remove pan from heat, blend in vanilla and continue stirring until it's cooled.

WHIPPED CREAM INGREDIENTS

1 cup (half pint) whipping cream (Yep. The real thing. No substitutes or the food quality police will come get you!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar

WHIPPED CREAM DIRECTIONS

Chill beaters and bowl. Add all ingredients to bowl. Mix on high speed until stiff.
Now comes the fun part. Making a lovely presentation. If you have a trifle bowl, you're in business. If you don't have a trifle bowl, you can use a cut glass punch bowl or any other clear bowl that will display the fruit between the layers.

TRIFLE INGREDIENTS

Angel Food or Sponge Cake (if they are a couple of days old they absorb better)
1/4 Triple Sec (orange liquor)
1 tablespoon dark Rum
1 cup strawberries (or more), cut into slices. Save the largest berry, whole, to put in center of top layer. (Throw in a little of whatever else you want, like fresh apricots, peaches, blueberries, or your local fruit/berry.) Reserve a few of the berries for use as garnish, if you need them.
1 small can Mandarin Orange slices, drained
1/2 cup Kirschwasser (cherry brandy)
1/2 cup Raspberry or Apricot jam (substitute any other jam or preserve your little heart desires)
1/4 cup Marsala, sweet Sherry, or Madeira
1/2 cup drained Maraschino Cherries as garnish

Cut cake into 3 equal layers.

BOTTOM LAYER: Put 1st layer of cake in trifle bowl. Sprinkle with Triple Sec and rum. Add remaining strawberries and 1/2 orange slices, placing some around the edge, against the glass for color, and some on top of the cake. Also place between layers. Add 1/3 of the custard.

MIDDLE LAYER: Add 2nd layer of cake. Sprinkle with Kirschwasser. Spread with jam and different fruit/berry. Add 1/3 custard and 1/2 cup of Marsala, sweet sherry, or Madeira.

TOP LAYER: Add 3rd layer of cake, then add fruit, the remaining custard, more Kirschwasser. Spread whipped cream over top, add the drained cherries, and Mandarin orange slices and remaining berries for garnish.

This dish is best when covered (use foil to be sure it doesn't stick to the cream) and refrigerated for several hours or overnight.

Serving instructions: Use a large, deep spoon to serve. Push it down to the bottom of dish so you get some of ALL the layers in each serving.

Yield: 10 servings.
Prep time: 20-30 minutes.
Chill time: 2 hours or overnight.

Submitted by Mary Ramsey on 8/31/02.

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