Trifle two new ways

Served family style or in individual cups, these layered desserts can be whipped up in no time

Trifles are the perfect dessert to make, to bid summer goodbye. The simple dessert made up of layers of cake, custard and fruit can either be made in big batches or single-serving glasses.

The dessert is not only a delight to look at, but also the perfect balance of sweet, rich and refreshing flavours. Here are two unique trifle recipes you can try at home to put fresh fruits to good use.

Blueberry lemon trifle

Ingredients

1 box vanilla cake, prepared according to package directions. (You can also use pound cake from your local bakery.)

½ cup sugar

½ cup water

2 meyer lemons

1 cup milk

1 tbsp custard powder

1 cup blueberries

11/2 cups whipping cream

2 tsp icing sugar

Method

Make sugar syrup by mixing sugar and water and bringing it up to a boil. Once the sugar has fully dissolved, add the juice and zest of half a lemon. Stir for 5 minutes and take it off the heat.

Prepare lemon custard by bringing milk to a boil and adding custard powder and sugar. Keep stirring to ensure no lumps are formed. To the custard, add the zest of ½ a lemon and juice of one full lemon and keep stirring.

Once the custard is smooth and has reached a thick consistency, take it off the heat and let it cool.

For the whipped cream topping, whip the cream to stiff peaks. Add icing sugar to taste.

To assemble the trifle, cut the cake into small cubes and place them at the bottom of your dish. Soak the cake in lemon sugar syrup, spoon the custard on the cake layer next, add a handful of blueberries on top and cover the blueberries by piping whipped cream.

Repeat the layers till you reach the top of the dish. Ensure the whipped cream is on top. Garnish with leftover lemon zest and blueberries.

Black forest trifle

Ingredients

1 box chocolate cake, prepared according to package instructions

1 cup cherries

½ cup sugar

½ cup water

2 cups whipped cream

1 cup milk chocolate chips, melted

Method

Make sugar syrup by mixing sugar and water and bringing it up to a boil. Once the sugar has fully dissolved, add in the cherries and let them stew for five minutes in the sugar syrup, after that take it off the heat and let it rest.

Make the whipped topping by whipping cream to stiff peaks, add icing sugar to taste.

Once whipped, divided the cream in half into two separate bowls. Add melted chocolate chips to one bowl and mix until incorporated. Add the two whipped toppings into different piping bags.

To assemble the trifle, cut the chocolate cake into small cubes and place them at the bottom of your dish. Soak the cake in cherry-infused sugar syrup.

Next, pipe on the chocolate whipped cream. Take the cherries soaking in the sugar mixture and place them on top, finish with a layer of normal whipped cream.

Repeat the layers in the same order one more time. Garnish with chocolate chips or shavings and leftover cherries on top.