A trifle is a great dessert to serve for a holiday dinner because it can be made a day in advance and it is as festive looking as it is deliciously satisfying. The combination of thick, rich vanilla and brandy infused custard, fruit and berries and some sort of cake to sop up all of the juices is just irresistible, there are as many versions of trifles as there are kitchens in the world {see other versions I’ve shared before at the bottom of the post}.

To take advantage of the refrigerator to table convenience of this comforting dish, start out with a pretty bowl that will suit your table.

Then start layering in the ingredients,

Start out with a layer of the custard topped with your choice of “cake”, I used store bought madeleines but you could use a pound cake or lady fingers filled with jam. Splash some brandy over the “cake”.

Next, scoop on some of the fruit, I had an excess of strawberries so I had made a fresh strawberry sauce I decided to use.

then, more custard

another layer of madeleines, and a dousing of brandy.

For some added tartness I layered in some Oregon Red Tart Cherries I had in the pantry.

More vanilla custard

¾ cup brandy {2 Tablespoons for the custard, the rest for the trifle}

1 tablespoon William Sonoma Vanilla Bean Paste

1 ⅓ cups whole milk

1 ⅓ cups heavy cream

8 large egg yolks

¼ cup sugar

12 bought madelines (you could also use lady fingers or simple cake)

 2 cups of your choice of fruit

(I used a homemade strawberry sauce {recipe below}

and 1 cup of Red Tart Sour Cherries)

2 cups heavy cream, whipped {optional}

Warm milk and cream in a saucepan.

Whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a mixing bowl, then beat in the warm milk and cream.

Pour mixture into a clean pan and put over low heat.

Stir and whisk the mixture constantly until it thickens.

If there are signs of the mixture curdling (it will start looking grainy), fill a sink with a couple inches of water, and add ice. Plunge the pan in the cold bath and whisk rapidly until the custard smooths out. If it gets desperate, put an ice cube in the custard mix and continue whisking.

When the custard is thick, stir in the Vanilla Bean Paste and 2 tablespoons of the brandy. The custard can be covered with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator to chill overnight or until needed.

Follow layering pattern detailed above.

You should feel free to get creative with this recipe, use your favorite fruits, jams and baked goods. Here are some trifle recipes I’ve shared in the past, click on the descriptions below for more inspiration…

I’d love to hear about your creations!!