Makes: About 8 servings
Time: About 15 minutes, plus time to chill
An easy, impressive dessert, great for making in advance. There’s lots of wiggle room here: Add fruit or don’t, use any pound cake variation or a different liqueur or cream filling; adjust the quantities of each component until the texture is how you like it. You’ll need to make the components separately, but that process can be staggered so that assembly is a snap.
1. Hull and slice the strawberries; reserve a few slices for topping the trifle if you like. Combine the sliced strawberries in a saucepan with the sugar and ¼ cup water and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, just until the berries soften slightly and the sugar is dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the sherry. While the berries cool, fold together the whipped cream and pastry cream in a separate bowl until just combined. Cut the cake into ½-inch-thick slices.
2. Arrange 3 or 4 cake slices in a single layer in the bottom of a trifle dish or large deep bowl, breaking them so that the entire bottom is covered. Spoon about one-third of the berry mixture (including the juices) over the cake, then spread about one-third of the whipped cream mixture over the berry mixture. Repeat for all layers. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours before serving, preferably overnight. Top with sliced strawberries if you like and serve.
PEACH MELBA TRIFLE Use 4 cups chopped peaches instead of the strawberries and swap the sherry for Chambord. Use Yellow Cake, baked in any pan and cut into 1-inch slices.
LEMON-BERRY TRIFLE Creamy, tart, and good with any berry: Use Lemon Curd in place of the pastry cream and Lemon-Poppy Bread instead of pound cake.
MINT CHOCOLATE TRIFLE Strictly for the grown-ups: Omit the berries, sugar, and sherry. Use Chocolate Pastry Cream and Chocolate Cake; drizzle ¼ cup crème de menthe over each layer of cake. Garnish with chocolate shavings.
MOCHA TRIFLE Follow the preceding variation, switching freshly brewed coffee for the crème de menthe.
GINGERBREAD TRIFLE A spicy spin for colder months: Follow the preceding variation, using Caramel Sauce in place of the pastry cream and Gingerbread in place of the cake. Drizzle 2 tablespoons whiskey over each layer.