Raspberry-Banana Trifle

I made a raspberry-banana trifle for this past weekend. The photo of my trifle is above. This is a recipe I got Good Housekeeping’s Best Loved Desserts cookbook (my new favorite cookbook!) on pg. 273. I think this is the perfect dessert to serve during a summer cookout.

I did “tweak” the recipe a bit. I used regular raspberry jam instead of seedless jam, and I used my regular pudding recipe instead of the homemade custard the recipe called for. (As a shortcut, you could probably use instant or cooked vanilla pudding boxes.) I also used about double the whipped cream for the topping, to which I added powdered sugar, vanilla and whipped cream stabilizer (Whip-It), which the original recipe didn’t call for.

Raspberry-Banana Trifle

Cake:
1 pound cake (1 pound)
12 oz. red raspberry jam

Pudding filling:
1 cup sugar
½ cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 cups half and half
4 jumbo eggs, separated
2 tsp. vanilla
4 T. unsalted butter
3 large bananas, sliced

Topping:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. Whip-It (or “Sahnesteif”)

First, prepare cake. Cut crust from pound cake to make a nice, clean rectangular shape. Cut the cake lengthwise into 4 equal slices. Spread jam on each slice, about 1/8 to ¼ inch thick. Put cake and jam slices on top of each other, assembling back into a rectangle. Then cut cake lengthwise down the center. Cover with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator while making filling.

Next, make filling. Whisk the four egg yolks in small bowl and set aside. Mix the sugar, flour and salt in saucepan. Add milk and half and half. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Reduce heat to low, and cook 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir about 1 cup of this hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks. Return egg mixture to saucepan and blend in with the rest of the cooked mixture. Cook 2 minutes more over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and butter and blend well. Let cool about 5-10 minutes at room temperature, stirring several times, before assembling trifle.

While the pudding is cooling, slice the two narrow cake rectangles into ¼-inch slices.

Assemble the trifle in a glass trifle dish or deep glass bowl. Place two rows of cake slices around the side of the bowl, alternating horizontal and vertical placement of cake slices to make a nice design. Place the remaining cake slices in a single layer on the bottom of the bowl. Top with a third of the bananas. Spoon about one third of the pudding on top of that. Top with some more bananas and more filling. Finally, top with the remaining bananas and ending with the remaining filling. Put some plastic wrap on top of the filling to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate several hours.

When filling is cooled and set, you can make the topping. Whip the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Blend in whipped cream stabilizer if you’re using it. Pipe whipped cream onto top of cake. Garnish fresh raspberries.

You can make this trifle one day in advance.

Hope you enjoy it!
~Becky