Recipe: English Berry Trifle with Cointreau

English Berry Trifle with Cointreau

by Victoria Challancin 

This Christmas I decided to make a dessert I haven't made in years:  a proper English-style berry trifle.  Armed with a bag of frozen organic berries from Costco, a punnet of fresh raspberries, and a large container of fresh strawberries, I searched for a recipe in which they could shine.  The recipe that came closest to memories of trifles made by my British friends in the Middle East came from a source that called it a New England Style Berry Trifle, but I knew in my heart that it was British, seriously British--one of those lovely British puddings that made it across the Atlantic and found its way into American culinary legend.  

While the link will take you to the original recipe, I should note the changes that I made while trying to recreate my friends' recipe.  First of all, I baked my Mom's recipe for a traditional Southern pound cake.  Nothing complicated, just a dense and hearty cake that would easily stand up to a good soak in a liquor-laced solution.  I followed most of the recipe as it was given, but once I had made the orange-lemon curd and allowed it to cool, I folded it gently into two cups of whipped heavy cream.  The rest is history.  And the result so lovely that it just may become a part of my own Christmas tradition--a part of my own history.