Trifle is amongst TH’s favourite desserts. My sister introduced us to this delicious dessert when she was a Home Ec student at Lady Irwin College. And she would make it from scratch, the cake, the fruit jam, the works. And TH was totally impressed with his sis-in-law-to-be.
The other day I happened to catch Nigella Lawson on TV (and I said to myself, “So this is the Nigella that everybody talks about!”). Interesting, to be named after a spice and end up getting your fame in the world of food. So, anyway, she was all for something bought, something whipped, to put together a Trifle in a lot less time. We had a friend coming for dinner later in the evening, and it had been a busy weekday. And ‘twas the season for chocolate too…
This is not exactly as Nigella demonstrated. Like we ever follow any recipe in toto! My substitutions resulted in a much lighter dessert and I didn’t need to rush out looking for exotic ingredients, just a visit to the neighbourhood dairy for some fresh cream, and some cake from the same market. The chocolate cake was substituted with Britannia’s fruit cake which all neighbourhood grocers stock. Instead of ‘real’ custard made with cream, whole milk and eggs, I used custard powder and my every-day 3% milk. I used Hershey’s semi-sweet morsels since there was no fancy chocolate available (and would have cost a day’s worth of salary, if it was). Cherries and cherry liqueur were replaced with raisins soaked in rum, and Kahlua diluted with plain water. I was able to use fresh cream for fresh cream though. Wow! 
Follow these steps for a quick dessert in line with the blogosphere mood-of-the-moment. Happy Valentine’s day to you too.
