Individual Summer Berry Trifles

This is the 4th dessert I'm posting in 4 days (cupcakes, cheesecakes and ice cream cake). My blog is definitely on sugar high more than the people eating them, because they were made at 4 different times and most of them were given away (thankfully!!). I actually have another dessert coming up on the blog later today. I think I will have to stop thinking about desserts and sugar for a while now.

Today's dessert is a great make ahead dish that is perfect to serve at summer parties. With the berry season in full swing, this is a great dessert to put them to use.

Cooking the berries with corn starch and sugar thickens it a little bit, so the berry layer doesn't run down and make the other layers soggy. No sugar added frozen berries are a great alternate to fresh berries making this dish convenient to make anytime of the year.

For the pastry cream layer, I found an eggless recipe on Aparna's blog and it worked like a charm. It is super simple to make and there is no need to fumble with cooking egg yolks involved with making traditional pastry cream.
Both the layers can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to assemble. Good quality pound cakes are available in most of the grocery stores, but if you have the time, then home made pound cake will be even more delicious here.

Ingredients: Makes 3~4 servings.

For the Berry Layer: Recipe adapted from Cook's Country.
Mixed Berries - 2cups (fresh or frozen)
Sugar - 2~3tbsp (adjust as per the sweetness of the fruit)
Corn Starch - ½tsp

For the Pastry Cream Layer: Recipe adapted from Aparna's recipe
Milk - ½cup+1½tbsp
Sugar - 2tbsp
Custard powder - 1½tbsp (or use corn starch)
White Chocolate - 2oz. chopped
Butter - 1tbsp
Vanilla extract - ½tsp

Other Ingredients:
Vanilla Pound Cake - 1 small, store bought or homemade
Whipped Cream - as needed
Berries - for garnish

Method:

• Make the Berry Layer: Reserve ½cup of the berries in a bowl. Combine the remaining 1½cups of berries, sugar and corn starch in a sauce pan. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick. Mash some of the berries with the back of the spoon to get somewhat smooth consistency. Pour the berry mixture onto the reserved berries in the bowl. Mix well and set aside to cool. This can be done at least 2~3 days ahead and refrigerated until ready to use.
• Make the Pastry Cream: Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Whisk until smooth and set aside to cool slightly.
• In a small bowl, whisk custard powder (or corn starch) in 1½tbsp milk.
• Combine ½cup milk and sugar in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Remove the pan from heat and add the melted chocolate and slowly stir in the custard (corn starch) mixture. Return the pan to the heat and cook on medium flame, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens. Turn off the heat and add the vanilla extract. Mix well and pour the custard into a bowl.
• Place a plastic wrap on top of the custard and refrigerate until ready to use. This can be made at least 2~3 days ahead.
• Prep the Cake: Cut the pound cake to the size of the serving dishes. Alternately you can chop the cake and simply add it as a layer.
• To Assemble: Place a layer of cake in the bottom of the serving dish (you can use 1 big trifle dish or 3~4 small trifle bowls). Top it with a layer of berries, followed by the pastry cream.
• Repeat with the Cake, Berries and Pastry cream. Finally add the whipped cream layer and berries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.