Trifle Pudding

Trifle pudding is a lovely English desert. The trifles of today have seen so much evolution from where it started being just a thick cream flavored with sugar, ginger and rosewater. Now there are a gazillion versions that grace the tables at homes and restaurants around the world. To us, the Trifle is one of those delicious yet very light- feeling deserts, full of flavors and textures that can be made without much trouble to please even the pickiest of eaters.

Prep time: 40 mins - 1 hr
Ingredients
Milk: 1 1/2 cups
Sugar: 1/2 cup
Custard powder: 3-4 tablespoons
Plain yellow cake (crumbled): 1 cup
Jello (Any flavor): 1 pack
Cool whip/ Fresh whipped cream: 1 cup

Fruits
Apple (finely cubed): 1/4 cup
Banana (finely cubed): 1
Strawberries (finely cubed): 2-3
Seedless grapes (finely cubed): 1/4 cup
Mixed nuts (Almonds,Walnuts, Cashews): handful
Maaza (An Indian mango nectar drink ): 1/4 cup

* Brushing the cake with Maaza or any mango based drink adds a sweet mango flavor to the pudding. If you don't have Maaza, you could just use lil bit of milk and sugar.

* You can use any fruits of your choice. However don't use citrusy fruits as they will change the consistency of the custard.

* We used the Brown & Polson vanilla custard mix and followed directions given behind.

* Due to time constraints, we used the ready made cake batter mix. You could also use our marble cake recipe without adding the chocolate to get the plain yellow cake.

Make the yellow cake according to the recipe. Let it cool, slice the cake and keep aside. Start by preparing the jello, based on the instructions behind the packet and let it set until firm. To make the custard heat milk in a pot, add sugar and continuously stir. Take aside little milk to dissolve the custard powder until free of lumps and pour it into the boiling milk. Continuously stir on a low flame until the custard thickens. Make sure the custard doesn't get burnt. Take it off from heat and let it cool completely. To fasten this process, place the custard pot in a plate filled with ice cubes. Peel and cube the fruits and keep aside. If you are using heavy whipping cream, beat it with a little sugar until it has firm peaks otherwise use cool whip.

You can set the trifle pudding in a large glass dish or individual ramekins. For layering

• Crumble the yellow cake and press it down to the bottom.
• Slightly brush the Maaza or Mango drink over the top of the cake. Add some more crumbled cake.
• Pour the custard once its fully cooled.
  
• Add the cubed fruits and nuts.
• Slice/cube the jello and lay it over the fruits and nuts.
• Finally top the jello with loads of cool whip and spread it evenly.
  
• Finish it up with cut up Bananas or Strawberries and a dust of chocolate shavings.

Cover it tight and refrigerate it for about 3-4hrs. Serve cold. Dig in...