Hello friends! So what’s cooking today? Nothing ... yes we are doing no cooking today and are still going to make a very stylish, easy and yummy dessert. Doesn’t that sound exciting?

Today we are going to make strawberry trifle — kind of — with a twist that requires no cooking to make the custard.

And I solemnly swear that I have been up to all good while inventing this recipe all by myself — it’s one of my kitchen experiments which turned out a hit with everyone. And officially acknowledged good enough to be our dessert at the next dinner party we have.

A regular trifle is made using fruits, cake pieces and custard, in a variety of flavours. The twist I added to this traditional dish was to use fresh whipped cream, sweetened of course, instead of custard.

I reckoned that both custard and cream are smooth, sweet and creamy, so they can be interchanged and I wasn’t wrong. Moreover, strawberries and cream is a classic combination, far more popular than custard, so it must turn out well. And it did. With a simple plain cake and some sugar syrup to soak the cake, this mouth-watering dessert was ready in no time!

So let’s get started with the recipe. I made it in four small jars so this quantity is for four servings.

Ingredients

• 8 slices of plain cake (two slices per serving)

• 8 tablespoons whipped, sweetened cream

• 1/2 cup strawberries, sliced

• 1/2 cup sugar syrup or any fruit juice

• 4 shot glasses or serving jars

Method

Wash and dry strawberries and slice length-wise, leaving four whole strawberries for the topping.

Cut circles of the cake slices with the shot glass or jar you will be serving it in. Place a cake piece at the bottom of the glass, put a tablespoon or more of the sugar syrup/juice to soak the cake well.

Add a tablespoon or more of the cream to form a layer over the cake. Place slices of strawberries to cover the sides of the glass. Now place the second piece of cake, soak with sugar syrup and cover with cream till the top. Add a strawberry at the top and chill before serving.

Wasn’t that easy? And it’s going to be delicious, I promise!

To make the cream sweet, take any regular packet of cream, beat it well with icing or powdered sugar, the amount of which depends on how sweet you want it. About 2 tablespoons in one cup or 200g of cream will be more than enough, but you can always add more. Beat it till smooth. Don’t over beat as we do not want it very light and airy as used in icing.

You can use any fruit and cake flavour you like, experiment and enjoy the amazing results! n

The writer Instagrams @the_experimentalcook

Published in Dawn, Young World, February 26th, 2022