Looking for triflingly easy dessert that’s ready in no time? This trifle recipe won’t be one but tasting it will be a true delight!

We could assume that trifles are named trifles because of their simplicity but as with a lot of recipes that endures the torment of centuries things are changing.

Earliest recorded trifle recipes are almost as old as the discovery of the New World and it was thick cream flavored with sugar, ginger and rosewater. During the years the dessert evolved into a form nowadays known in some parts of the English speaking world as fool.

Fools and trifles were used interchangeably for years then somehow parfaits have gotten into the business as well.

There are some key differences between those desserts despite looking similar sometimes. In fact, the only common thing, apart from trifle and parfaits are both being French words originally, is their layered look.

Well, to be honest as long as there is no standardized industry wide regulation overseen by highly skilled academics whose only purpose is to decide if new recipes adhere to the code or not, we can’t be sure what we exactly do.

It’s like Game of Thrones in the dessert cup. Only time will tell which of the three names will win and which dwindle in the attempt or reborn later made stronger by the scars and raising triumphant.

Fools are generally custard or whipped cream layered fruit desserts, they sometimes get a bit of crushed biscuit layer or something similar.

Parfaits in turn get granola instead of the biscuits or some kind of cake and the custard is swapped to ice cream, yogurt or Bavarian cream, depending on the mood and dessert maker.

Some time back trifles were made with crushed biscuits or cookies but nowadays only cakes are used to separate the layers where the filling can be anything without restrictions in the dessert category.

Now, that we have cleared up the definitions or made it more difficult, it’s time to dive into a not so trifle recipe as well. Not as we couldn’t make an easy trifle, but if we are to make something out of gluten then use its power to its fullest and make something worthy of songs and tales.

This recipe will require three different flavored cakes stuck on top of each other with custard and some secret sauce.

A basic sponge cake will take up the responsibility of being the main framework of the cake while added cocoa powder will create a similarly light chocolate sponge cake. The third layer calls for walnuts or crushed nuts that do give a whole new remote nutty feel to the whole.

If this three layer soaked in a bit of rum punch, then topped with vanilla custard wouldn’t be enough, there are more things to do for a really exclusive experience.

As whipped cream has so far been left out, we should invite it to join the party and crone the occasion with and indispensable chocolate syrup topping that we flavor a bit of rum as well.

Although, this recipe sounds like not a cake to trifle with, it is a splendid dessert with little more than basic ingredients providing a truly exclusive look and variety of decadent flavors all over the plate.

Ingredients

Pastry

Plain sponge cake

4 medium / 200g Eggs (separated)
3 tablespoons / 60g Honey or sweetener of choice
1 cup / 120g Plain flour
1 tablespoon / 10g Baking powder (follow instructions on packaging)

Chocolate sponge cake

4 medium / 200g Eggs (separated)
3 tablespoons / 60g Honey or sweetener of choice
⅞ cup / 100g Plain flour
2 tablespoons / 16g Cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 tablespoon / 10g Baking powder (follow instructions on packaging)

Nut sponge cake

4 medium / 200g Eggs separated
3 tablespoons / 60g Honey or sweetener of choice
⅞ cup / 100g Plain flour
4 tablespoon / 40g Walnut or nuts of choice (ground)
1 tablespoon / 10g Baking powder (follow instructions on packaging)

Cream

2 cups / 500g Milk
5 medium / 100g Egg yolks
1 tablespoon / 15g Vanilla extract
1 tablespoon / 8g Corn starch
2 tablespoons / 40g Honey or sweetener of choice

Filling

½ cup / 150g Water
3½ oz / 100g Raisins soaked in rum or rum aroma
3½ oz / 100g Walnut or nuts of choice
3 tablespoon / 50g Apricot jam
3 tablespoon / 24 Cocoa powder (unsweetened)

Topping

1⅔ cup / 400g whipping cream
1 tablespoon / 20g Honey or sweetener of choice
½ tablespoon / 2.5g Vanilla extract

Chocolate syrup topping

5 oz / 150g Chocolate
⅔ cup / 150g water
1 tablespoon / 8g Cocoa powder
1 tablespoon / 15g Rum aroma

Kitchen utensils

10″ x 8″ / 25cm x 20.5cm Baking tray

How to make Trifle

Sponge cake

For detailed instructions check: Sugar free sponge cake

Separate eggs then beat egg whites until hard peaks form.
Pour agave syrup with the yolks and beat them until light yellow.
Pour in the flour and baking powder slowly while mixing with the yolks.
Fold in egg whites carefully.
Pour batter into the tray and put it in the 350°/180°C preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate sponge cake

For detailed instructions check: Sugar free chocolate sponge cake

Separate eggs then beat egg whites until hard peaks form.
Pour agave syrup with the yolks and beat them until light yellow.
Pour in the flour, baking powder and cocoa slowly and incorporate well with the yolks.
Fold in egg whites carefully.
Pour batter into the tray.
put it in the 350°/180°C preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Nut sponge cake

Grind nuts of choice then mix flour with ground nuts and baking powder.
Separate eggs.
Beat egg whites until hard peaks form.
Pour agave syrup with the yolks and beat them until light yellow.
Pour in the flour slowly and incorporate well with the yolks.
Fold in egg whites carefully.
Pour batter into the tray.
Put it in the 350°/180°C preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Filling

Pour rum aroma or rum into water and mix. Soak raisins in it.
Grind walnut or nuts of choice to get ready as fillings.

Vanilla cream

Whisk yolks with agave syrup until light yellow.
Spoon in corn starch as well and mix them together evenly.
Pour yolk mixture into the simmering milk. Stir it until it starts bubbling. Take it off the heat to cool down.

Chocolate syrup

Melt chocolate.
Mix in hot water, rum aroma and cocoa powder. Let it cool down.

Assembly

Put one layer of the cake at the bottom of the tray where it is going to be assembled.
Divide the vanilla cream, raisins and ground nuts into two equal parts. Spread one part of the vanilla cream evenly on the first cake layer.
Sprinkle half of the nuts and half of the raisins evenly on top.
Put second layer of the cake on top.
Spread the other half of the vanilla cream, raisins and nuts on top of the vanilla cream.
Place the third layer on then spread apricot jam on top.
Through a sieve sprinkle cocoa powder on top to finish it. Put tray in the fridge for a couple of hours to rest.

Serving

Cut cake into cube shapes and put one cube on a dessert plate.Decorate it with whipped cream and chocolate syrup on top.

Enjoy!

Flavors aren’t just ingredients but shapes too. These cakes come in squares but they are at all not edgy:

Star this recipe!