Grandma’s Classic Trifle
This is an easy recipe and it looks spectacular. The ingredients:
• Large Pound Cake – store bought is ok
• 16 oz. Blackberries
• Sherry – Preferable a quality cream sherry – about 1/3 cup
• 1 1/4 pint Bird’s Custard – get the powder from a British Store, or grocery store that carry British food products.
• Cool Whip

Cook the blackberries on high heat stirring constantly until they are almost a mush. You may need to add water if the berries do not contain sufficient.

Cut the Pound Cake into slices and layer into a glass bowl (or trifle bowl if you have one). Pour sherry over pound cake and then pour cooked blackberries over both. Use a pointed knife and cut vents to insure that berries and sherry reach the lower layers of the cake ( it should be moist). Blackberry juice down the sides of the cake make a great decorator touch.

Follow the directions to make a pint and a quarter of Bird’s custard. This is very different from American custards, so do not substitute. When making the custard be careful to heat slowly and do not bring the milk to the boil until the final heating. If you have used too much heat during the initial heating of the milk a quick wipe out of the pot in cold water normally removes any built up skin on the bottom. Do not burn the custard (too much heat – go slowly).

Pour the custard over the cake and repeat the use of the knife to ensure that the custard fills all air spaces in between the cake (and normally just coats the top layers).

Allow to cool in a fridge – top with Cool Whip ( add cherries and walnuts as a sprinkled topping if you like) when you serve. It looks spectacular and, apart from the custard, is easy to make.