Rummy Sponge Cake Trifle: A Festival Of Flavors In Your Mouth

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• vanilla pudding (easy recipe below)
• 1 sponge cake, cut into 1-inch cubes (store-bought)
• 1 cup rum, plus 2 tablespoons
• 1 cup almonds, blanced and slivered
• 1 cup pitted dates, firmly packed, finely chopped
• whipped topping (recipe below)
• 1 (4 ounce) bar dark chocolate
• 3 cups milk
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons rum
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Recipe

• 1 begin by making the vanilla pudding:
• 2 heat 2 2/3 cups of the milk.
• 3 mix the cornstarch, sugar and salt in a seperate bowl; stir in the remaining milk.
• 4 add the cornstarch mixture to the heated milk and cook over low heat, continuously stirring, until smooth and thick, and the cornstarch is completely cooked (about 10 minutes).
• 5 set aside to cool down to room temperature.
• 6 meanwhile, layer 1/3 of the sponge cake cubes in the bottom of a footed trifle dish or deep glass bowl.
• 7 drizzle the cake with 1/3 rum and sprinkle with 1/3 almonds and 1/3 dates; top with 1/3 vanilla pudding. repeat the layers until the bowl is almost full.
• 8 chill for at least four (4) hours - longer is better.
• 9 meanwhile prepare the whipped cream topping:
• 10 in a large bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks are just about to form.
• 11 beat in the vanilla, 2 tablespoons rum, and sugar until peaks form. cook's tip: do not over-beat or the cream will become lumpy and butter-like.
• 12 just before serving the trifle, pipe the whipped cream over the top and run a vegetable peeler over the edge of the dark chocolate bar, letting the curls sprinkle over the cream topping.