Sugar High Friday #72: Trifles

The foundation of this trifle, my first ever to make or eat, was a marbled chocolate/vanilla pound cake from Dorie Geenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours. It was so easy to make, and smelled so delicious, I had such high hopes for eating it.

For the rest of the Trifle I went with Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Cherry Trifle recipe from Feast. This recipe called for sandwiching black cherry jam and chocolate pound cake along the bottom of a large trifle bowl, macerating it with cherry brandy and covering it with sour cherries then a dark chocolate custard and whipped cream.

I made two adjustments (for good or ill) right off the bat. First, I didn't need a trifle that could feed sixteen when I can barely get two people at home to try new things, so I quartered the recipe. For some reason, I hoped to assemble these in wine or coffee glasses instead. Second, too much chocolate (blasphemy?) was involved, which is why I choose to do a marbled pound cake instead of straight chocolate.

In the end, while I enjoyed preparing and eating the chocolate cherry trifle, I think I would make a few adjustments were I to make it again. First, I would use more brandy, since my pound cake was still very dry even after being macerated over night. I would also add more cherries, to cut down the slightly bitter taste of that chocolate custard. I would also sweeten the whipped cream, as the recipe didn't call for it, I just whipped it up and covered it in chocolate shavings but I think the trifle needed a bit more sweetness. This was my first ever trifle, and it was so fun to try it out! I think I'll try whipping up at least one more, just to play.

The custard was so delicious and easy to make, perhaps because of Nigella Lawson's wonderful writing, so I think I want to share that recipe for you.

Chocolate Custard

From Nigella Lawson's Feast

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, min. 70% cocoa solids
1 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon milk
1 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon superfine sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

Chop up the chocolate and melt it; I do this on low to medium heat in the microwave, checking after 2 minutes, though it will probably need 4. Or you can stick the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Once the chocolate's melted, leave to one side while you get on with the custard proper.

Warm the milk and cream in a saucepan, and whisk the yolks, sugar, and cocoa in a large bowl. Pour the warm milk and cream into the bowl, whisking it into the yolks and sugar mixture. Stir in the melted chocolate, scraping the sides well with a rubber spatula to get all of it in, and pour the custard back into the rinsed saucepan.

Cook over a medium heat until the custard thickens, stirring all the time. Make sure it doesn't boil, as it will split and curdle. Keep a sink full of cold water so that if you get scared you can plunge the custard pan into the cold water and whisk like mad, which will avert possible crisis.

The custard will get darker as it cooks and the flecks of chocolate will melt once the custard has thickened. And you do need this thick, so don't panic so much that you stop cooking while it's still runny. Admittedly, it carries on thickening as it cools and then when it's chilling in the fridge. Once it's ready,m pour into a bowl to cool and cover the top of the custard with plastic wrap to stop it forming a skin.