Easy Trifle Recipe

Ingredients:

Optional:

Notes:

• Sponge cake: if you can't find some ready-baked sponge cake, angelfood cake will work also. Traditionally, trifle uses ladyfingers. I find that they are rather expensive, even if you can find them read-baked, but if you want to be traditional, go ahead and use ladyfingers. If you absolutely have to bake, a recipe for sponge cake is provided below.
• Fruit: I typically use peaches, bananas, and strawberries or grapes. However, it works just as well using nectarines, raspberries, blueberries, apples, oranges, pineapple, etc. Just make sure you have at least two different kinds of fruit, and three or four different kinds is even better.
  It works just as well with canned fruit as with fresh, and you can also use frozen fruit &mdash just make sure to defrost it before chopping it up.
• Vanilla pudding: I use Jello brand, because I know it gives a consistently good taste. However, if there is another brand of vanilla pudding that you prefer, go ahead and use it. The amount of milk is what the package directions request. If you get a package that asks for more milk, then you will get slightly more pudding than you need for this recipe. No problem, just eat the rest!
• Sherry: I prefer a dry sherry, as this trifle shouldn't taste too sweet &mdash just light and refreshing. If children are going to be eating this, you probably should leave out the alcohol.
• Coconut: this is for people who love coconut. If you're serving it to a group of strangers, and some of them may have a nut allergy, leave out the coconut or almonds.

Making the trifle:

1. Make the pudding according to the directions on the package. This is where you use the milk.
2. Cover pudding and place in refrigerator.
3. Chop up all the fruit.
4. Locate a bowl which is large enough for all the ingredients, and pretty enough to put on the table. Tradionally trifle is served in a cut-glass bowl, but really any good-looking bowl will do.
5. Cut the sponge-cake layer in half, so that you now have two very thin layers.
6. Assemble the trifle as follows: thin layer of sponge cake, half the sherry (optional), half the chopped fruit, half the pudding (spread evenly over the fruit), half the coconut (optional). Now repeat to create a second layer. If you are using sliced almonds, sprinkle them over the top.
7. Cover and put in refrigerator for at least one hour. Overnight is even better.

For those who absolutely have to do this from scratch, here is a sponge cake recipe, which makes only one layer of sponge cake:

Sponge Cake recipe

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325℉ or 350℉ (160℃ or 175℃).
2. Sift together flour and baking powder.
3. Grease and flour a 8 or 9" (20 - 23 cm) diameter round cake pan.
4. Heat milk in saucepan.
5. Meanwhile, break eggs into a large bowl and beat them until they are very light in colour.
6. Beat in sugar, salt, and vanilla.
7. Beat in hot milk.
8. Add flour & baking powder mixture, and mix it in very quickly. Immediately pour into prepared pan.
9. Bake for 20-30 minutes (or until cake tests done by testing with toothpick or cake tester to see that it comes out dry).

Disclaimer: while these hints are the result of years of experience and/or lots of research, in the end they are just my personal opinion. If you try something I suggest and it doesn't work, please don't sue me &mdash I guarantee nothing. Best of luck!

Page created and maintained by A. Steinbergs

Last modified: September 24, 2008