Fruit Custard Trifle Pudding is a scrumptious and decadent no-bake dessert with layers of creamy custard, fruits, crunchy biscuits or cookies and luscious cake! As this can be made ahead of time, it is a perfect show stopper dessert that can be served at any party! Trifles are a totally British classic dessert with layers of custard, cake soaked in syrup (or fruit juice or sherry), fruits, jam or jelly and crowned with a thick layer of whipped cream. Now loved the world over, this dessert has a myriad of variations in each family! The version I am sharing today is a classic in our family without any jelly, whipped cream or soaking of cake. Every month, our group (HealthyWellthy Cuisines), gets together and shares recipes based on different themes. This time it was “Parents’ Special”. As far as I can remember, both my parents used to love custard pudding with lots of fruits, biscuits and cake in between. So, custard pudding it was!
In earlier days (I am talking about the 70s), we did not have much of a concept of dessert; it was mostly Indian sweets made and enjoyed during Diwali, birthdays etc. Our idea of dessert was mostly ice cream and store bought cake. But I know for a fact that this custard trifle pudding was a favorite of my parents as they used to enjoy and ask for more servings when it was being presented as a finale dessert at my Aunt’s house during Rotary dinners that they used to have in their house. My mother who stays with me confirmed this and was eagerly waiting for me to make this! We used to especially love the texture of soaked biscuits and spongy cake in the chilled pudding. Traditionally, we used store-bought vanilla cake and glucose biscuits with apple and bananas being the main fruits.
The final layer was a thick sprinkling of ghee-roasted coarsely chopped cashew nuts! I always wished there were more nuts in between the layers. This time, I was out of cashew, so I decided to use some slivered almonds I had and yes, I have sprinkled some in between layers! Just layer vanilla flavored custard (homemade from scratch or use a custard mix) with chopped fruits, biscuits/cookies and cake. I had just made two pineapple fruitcakes for Christmas, so instead of baking a plain cake again, I decided to use these in my trifle. You can use any homemade or store bought cake. Chill for at least 4 to 6 hours and serve. For more no-bake desserts, try:
Quick Oreo Tiramisu Parfait Gulab Jamun with Instant Rabri Dates and Oats Payasam
Enjoy!! Cook Time: 10 minutes
For the custard: 3 cups milk ½ cup sugar (adjust according to taste) 7 to 8 tsp vanilla custard powder (depending upon how thick you want your custard) Other ingredients: Pineapple fruitcake ( or any sponge or yellow cake), cut up into rough pieces or slices Biscuits or cookies broken into pieces (I have used Glucose biscuits) 3 to 4 bananas, peeled and chopped 1 large apple, peeled and chopped ½ cup slivered almonds/cashew nuts, roasted in 2 tsp of ghee/clarified butter Few maraschino cherries, cut up for garnishing (optional)
Instructions Notes This scrumptious dessert can be layered in individual serving tall glasses or dessert bowls. Use any other fruits like mango, chikoo or even dry fruits like dates, figs, raisins etc. Make these today or PIN for later on. I have made these in small individual servings with chocolate cake for a more decadent treat for chocolate lovers too:
Sharing this with #RecipeofthWeek | #FiestaFriday along with co hosts Mollie @ The Frugal Hausfrau and Petra @ Food Eat Love Hop on over to HealthyWellThyCuisines for more such nostalgic #ParentsSpecial dishes: Carrot Halwa Mousse, Almond Fudge Badam Burfi, Exotic Veggies in Teriyaki sauce, and Moong Dal Halwa.
