Traditional at Christmas time, but no reason not to have made a New Year's resolution to eat more trifle too. My favorite trifle is sherry trifle, made with Harvey's Bristol Cream. Nothing comes close. Oh and you'll need to serve it in your grandmother's best glass bowl, because it won't taste the same in anything else. I use Mrs Beeton's recipe, more or less, and like to imagine them making a little extra to eat 'below stairs', very Downton Abbey.
4 individual sponge cakes (or make a fatless sponge, or use lady fingers or angel food cake)
raspberry or strawberry jam
1 cup fresh raspberries or strawberries, mashed or chopped a little
1/4 pint sherry
grated rind of 1/2 lemon
1 oz almonds, blanched and shredded
1/2 pint custard (make this in the Vitamix with 1/2 pint half and half, 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk, 1 oz sugar and a teaspoon of cornstarch - add ingredients in order listed, start machine, turn up to high and blend 5-6 minutes until hot and steaming)
1/4 pint heavy cream
1 egg white
1-2 oz sugar
Split the sponge cakes or substitutes, spread with jam and sandwich together in an even layer on bottom of glass dish. Add fruit. Pour sherry and lemon rind over and leave to soak for an hour or so. Pour custard over before it cools, then allow to cool. Bake or broil the almonds until they are a pale golden color and allow to cool. Whisk the cream with the egg white and sugar until stiff, and pile on top of the custard. Decorate with the almonds and a few whole raspberries or strawberries. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
