Trifle Pudding

Right....all those who were waiting for my trifle pudding, this is for you, ok? So here goes.

All you need for the trifle is : Jelly, Custard and Sponge cake. These are going to be your beautifully coloured three layers.

For garnish:
A can of tinned pineapple slices
Candied cherries
Whipped cream (optional)
Chocolate flakes (optional)

So lets make the Jelly first, shall we?

Prepare a 250ml packet of cherry/strawberry/rasberry flavoured Jelly (whatever takes your fancy) according to the instructions. Add 2 cups of hot water first. Dissolve the gelatin mixture and then add 2 cups of cold water. Chill until firm.

Well....yeah. That's me. In my very cute apron. My mom gave it to me :)

Next prepare the custard. Take 500ml milk and heat it. Reduce heat and add sugar. We want a nice and thick consistency so we will be adding more custard powder than usual. I added around 5 tsp of custard powder in a bowl and dissolved it in cold water.

Add it to the milk, stirring it continuously until it thickens significantly. A drop of vanilla essence would really enhance the flavour so go ahead and add it. Remove from heat and chill until firm.



Next, we prepare the cake. You might as well buy it from your local bakery. I had loads of time on my hands apparently so I prepared my cake from scratch. :)

Pour the batter into a well greased and floured cake tin. Just love the cake batter left over in the bowl :) Go ahead and enjoy it while you bake your cake. :P

Here's my custard cooling down and the cake ready to be baked.

So you got all your trifles layers ready and chilled. Bring it all together!!! Top the jelly with 1-2 cm thick slices of the sponge cake (which I know you will buy from the store, call it my sixth sense). Pour the custard on top of the cake. Chop up bite-sized canned pineapple slices and/or candied cherries. Arrange them on top of the custard. Sprinkle chocolate flakes and whipped cream on top if you got some ready in your refrigerator.

And Voila! We're done. Chill for an hour or two before your guests arrive. Serve carefully with all three layers in bowl. Dig in!

Fruits in Custard

Well its Ramadhan time...and we love our fruits at Iftar time. Here's fruit custard with a twist. Ever tried it with almonds and dates? It is simply awesome. A little crunchy. A little chewy.

• 1/2 litre milk
• 2 tsp custard powder
• 1 cup sugar
• A drop of vanilla essence
• 2 bananas
• 1 apple
• 1 orange, seeds removed
• pomegranate seeds
• 10 almonds, skinned and chopped
• 6 dates, seeds removed and chopped
• 2-3 slices of plain vanilla cake or sponge cake

Prepare custard according to directions. Heat milk to boiling point. Dissolve custard powder in a little water to make a paste. Reduce heat and add sugar to the milk. Add the custard paste stirring continuously. Add vanilla essence. Allow to cool and refrigerate.

Dice the fruits and add the orange bits preferably without the skin. Add the chopped almonds and dates. Mash the sponge cake with fingers and sprinkle into the custard. Mix well and serve cold.

Tip: Custard not your thing? Make Fruit Chat instead. Leave out the custard and the cake. Add orange juice to the diced fruits, a pinch of salt, 4 tsp sugar and some black pepper. You can use fruit chat masala available in deli counters as well. Ramadhan Kareem.