Viva Valentine's Day!

If it weren't for this date on the calendar, we would not have an excuse to conjure up the most exotic, blow-our-minds desserts. The kind of desserts that translate mushy, gooey feelings into something seductively sweet and better than sex.

Even if you don't have a partner, or romance flirting, skipping and dancing across your horizon, what better way to give yourself a dopamine lift that eating an over-the-top dessert

Trifles are of hundred types and they have a lot of components, which is what makes them so fun. The components are easy to make or can be outsourced and it's a quick option.

The end result is far beyond expectations as you dig into smooth, perfectly melded but simply delightful layers of whipped cream, fresh fruit, jelly, custard, dark chocolate and rum-flavoured cake.

The rum, or any alcohol is optional, although it does add loads of pizzazz. And instead of rum you can use brandy, port, sherry or dessert wine or a liqueur, like a fruity one. Instead of jelly you could use jam but that makes it even sweeter.

The best trifles I have eaten have been in England and Ireland and the trifles you can buy from Tesco, Sainsbury, Aldi, Dunnes or Marks and Spencer are pretty darn great too. This Raspberry Strawberry Rum Trifle recipe is patterned on a popular Marks and Spencer dessert that flies off the shelf on weekends and holidays. It is a wonderful sayonara to a meal and always wows the guests.

Zelda's Raspberry Strawberry Rum Trifle

Serves: 5

Ingredients

Jelly layer

• 40 gm raspberry vegetarian jelly crystals
• 1 cup boiling water

Whipped cream layer

• 200 ml fresh cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 5 tsp sugar

Cake layer

• 200 gm sponge or pound cake, sliced into small thin pieces
• 1-2 tbsp rum, or any other liquor, optional

Fruit layer

• 150 gm fresh strawberries, sliced

Custard layer

• 20 gm custard powder, about 2 tbsp
• 1 cup milk
• 3-4 tsp sugar
• 1-2 tbsp rum or any other liquor, optional

For serving

• 7-8 tbsp grated dark chocolate, 55 per cent cocoa
• Serving glasses, like a martini glass

Method

For the jelly layer

• Pour the jelly crystal into a bowl and then pour the hot water over it and mix.
• Cover, cool, refrigerate and allow it to set for about an hour.

For the whipped cream layer

• Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla, in a bowl, with a hand mixer or electric beater, till it forms soft peaks.
• Keep aside to chill.

For the custard layer.

• In a saucepan, whisk the custard powder with a little of the milk till it forms a smooth paste.
  Add in the sugar and the rest of the milk and heat over low heat till it gets a pudding like consistency, whisking continuously.
• Take off heat.
  Cool.
  Add the rum or any other liquor or liqueur.
• Refrigerate.

To assemble

• At the bottom of a glass, places 3-4 slices of the cake (please see the video below).
  Add a little more rum if you prefer.
  Add 4-5 slices strawberries.
  Then add 3-4 tbsp jelly followed by a few tbsp custard.
  Finish off with 3-4 tbsp whipped cream.
  Grate dark chocolate on top.
• Carefully cover without disturbing the top layer and chill for about an hour to allow the layers to settle and serve cold.
  It will stay good in the fridge for at least two days

Zelda's Note: Trifles are incredibly versatile. All kinds of fresh fruits work in trifle together or separately -- blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, mango, bananas, blackberries, mulberries, pineapple, figs, cherries, orange segments. You can choose different flavours of jelly too -- lemon lime, cherry, strawberry.

Other improvisations for trifles could include a chocolate sauce layer or a caramel syrup layer or a maple syrup layer or a nutella layer or a browni layer or a mascarapone cheese layer or a rasgulla/gulab jamun/khoya layer or a candy/marshmellow layer or a cookie crumb (maybe shortbread or Shrewsburry or oreos or ginger cookies) layer or a pudding layer or a meringue layer. Instead of grated chocolate, use cocoa powder or chocolate curls.

I prefer pound cake to a sponge. You can opt for an eggless cake or other types of cake like banana bread, madeira cake, chocolate cake, almond cake, lady fingers cakes.

For a recipe of sponge cake try Nivedita Gangay's Honey Vanilla Sponge.

To make this dessert vegan, use almond milk for the custard and skip the whipped cream or make coconut whipped cream [external link].

Instead of sugar, you could experiment with adding date jaggery to the custard.

This dessert can be made sugar-free. Use sugar-free jelly and sweeten the whipped cream and custard with stevia. Each brand of stevia has its own stevia for sugar substitution ratio provided on its packing. Use diabetic-appropriate fruit.

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