There are two types of trifle, fruit trifle and sherry trifle. This is my grandmother’s sherry trifle recipe, the dessert that followed many a proper English Sunday dinner in my family. There’s no nasty canned fruit in this recipe, so put aside any bad memories of trifles past, and dig right in: you won’t be disappointed.
1 to 2 Pound cakes or any dense yellow cake, depending on the size of your bowl.
Cake should come 3/4 way up the side of the bowl
Strawberry or Raspberry jam (not jelly)
Good sherry, NOT cooking sherry. Harvey’s Bristol cream comes to mind or a nice dry sherry if you prefer.
Bird’s custard mix
Whipping cream, whipped well so it forms peaks, but is not too dense
Cut the cake in half and spread liberally with jam. Put halves together then cut into large pieces. Place in bowl and mash together. Douse with sherry to taste, but not the whole bottle as you may as well drink dessert that way. You should start off with enough to moisten the cake and add more as it soaks in. Cover and leave 12 -24 hours at room temperature to let sherry saturate the cake.
Make the Birds custard according to directions on package. Let cool a little and pour onto the cake. Let set, but cover with cling wrap so a skin doesn’t form. When the custard is set, cover with whipped cream. Garnish with berries if desired.
