I've always thought of trifle as a pretty heavy, stodgy dessert. Thick slabs of stale cake, swimming in syrup with lashings of heavy custard and whipped cream (ok well maybe the custard in that equations still sounds pretty good, but I digress). This dessert has none of these attributes. Light cake with fresh berries topped with an almost mousse like custard, makes for a lovely dessert perfect to eat on a hot summer day. Purists will also note that there is no booze in this recipe. A very good friend pointed out that this was totally unacceptable and mentioned that her father will actually send his trifle back to the kitchen if there isnt enough sherry in it. I have tried to keep this recipe as light as possible, hence the lack of alcohol, but feel free to add your favourite tipple, sherry, framboise, white rum, cointreau, the possibilities are endless.
In a saucepan combine the frozen raspberries, vinegar and honey and bring to a simmer. Simmer the berries until they form a rich red syrup, you may been to mash the berries a little with your spoon as they simmer. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Combine in a saucepan the custard powder, sugar, vanilla and milk and mix thoroughly. Heat, siring constantly until the custard thickens (about 5 - 7 minutes) remove from the heat, strain to remove any lumps and allow to cool.
Cut the angel food cake into 18 slices. I find that it is easier to cut the cake in half horizontally, so that you have two half circles and then cut each circle into nine slices. Take the first slice of cake and dip in the raspberry syrup, put in the bottom on a martini glass and top with some of the fresh berries and a little more syrup. Top that layer with a layer of custard. Arrange another two slices of cake, dipped in syrup on the custard and add more berries. Top with a final layer of custard and a couple of fresh raspberries. Repeat for five remaining martini glasses. Allow to set for up to six hours (no more) and serve.
