Fruit Trifle | Trifle Pudding....and my 250th post!!!

YIPPEE...this is my 250th post and I am really proud of reaching this milestone.
Milestone posts always need to be celebrated with a special post. While I didn't make this specifically for my post, I saved this to post for the milestone one, as it is apt for the occasion.

I had made this Trifle pudding for a family get together about three weeks back for a group of 12 people while I was in Bangalore. Though I could not take nice pics as it was already late in the evening and I was running short of time , I still managed to click a few pics.This pudding is a bit time consuming to prepare but it's very light and makes you feel like eating more even after a heavy meal.
This is a great party recipe and this pudding never fails to impress any one.So what are you thinking?plan to make this pudding for your next party and wait to receive the compliments.This dessert is quite colorful,light on stomach and would be loved by kids as well.Coincidentally my friend Priti also has posted the same Fruit Trifle recipe,do check her blog for her version.

Fruit Trifle | Trifle Pudding Recipe:
(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:
to assemble:
6-8 plain vanilla Sponge cake slices
1 cup diced Jelly
2 cups Custard,medium thickness
1 cup mixed Fruits
1/2 cup Whipped cream
1/3 cup Sugar syrup or 1/3 cup fresh Orange juice
3-4 tbsp Tutti fruti or 10 glazed candied Cherries

for jelly:
1/2 pack Jelly crystals(preferably strawberry/raspberry flavor)
200 ml Water

for custard:
2 tbsp Vanilla custard powder
4-5 tbsp Sugar
1/2 litre Milk

for sugar syrup:
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Water

fruits needed:
2 elaichi Bananas/1 big Banana(peeled,diced small)
1/2 Apple(cored,skinned,finely diced)
1/2 Orange(skinned,seeded,chopped fine without pith)
1/2 Mosambi/Sweet lime(skinned,seeded,chopped fine without pith)
1/4 cup Pomegranate kernels
you can also use (Mangoes,Peaches,Blueberries,Strawberries,seedless Grapes) - Subjected to availability
Method:
for making custard:

• Take 1/4 cup milk aside and mix in the custard powder and mix well.
• Boil milk until it comes to a boil and reduce the flame and add custard powder mixed with milk and mix it vigorously and continuously.Add sugar and mix well.
  
• Let it thicken until it coats the back side of the ladle.Switch off the flame and let it cool completely.Refrigerate it until its usage.
  

for making Jelly:

• Always follow the instructions given on the pack for making,in general reduce the quantity of water to get perfect jelly.In our case even if the jelly is bit soft it is fine as we are layering it in between other layers and it is preferred to be soft than the firm jelly.
• In order to make jelly boil the water and mix the jelly crystals and mix well until it melts completely and let it boil for a minute.
• Pour this mixture over a flat plate(with the wall) to get 1/4" thickness and let it set for an hour or two.dice into fine cubes and keep it refrigerated until its usage.
  

preparing the mixed fruits:

• While cutting the fruits always start with the citrus fruits like orange,mosambi so that it will help in avoiding the discoloration of the fruits like apples,banana which we add later.Otherwise you can add few drops of lemon juice which helps in discoloration of apples and bananas.
• Cut all the fruits into even sized pieces and mix with a spoonful of sugar and mix well.Keep it refrigerated until its usage.
  

for making sugar syrup:

• In a pan boil water and add sugar and let it melt completely and boil for a couple of minute.No need to boil this for more time.If you are using orange juice you avoid this step of making sugar syrup.

for assembling Trifle pudding:

• Remove the brown edges of sponge cake and dice it into small cubes and keep them aside.
• Arrange the glasses or the serving bowls in an order before we start the process.You can even use a big wide fancy bowl for this,but I prefer individual bowls as it is easy to serve and mess free as well.
• First add a thin layer of colorful jelly cubes and then top it with a layer of sponge cake cubes.
• Sprinkle sugar syrup or orange juice all over to moisten the cake pieces and gently press the cake down.
• Add 2-3 tbsp custard all over the cake slices covering the gaps in between.
• Add 1-2 tbsp of mixed fruits and again pour a layer of custard over it.
• Now repeat the process of jelly layer,cake layer,custard layer,fruits layer and then again custard layer.You can repeat the process according to the size of your serving bowl/glass, generally 2-3 layers would be more than enough.
• Top it with 1-2 whipped cream,you can even use a piping bag for this job to make it look more pretty.
• Sprinkle some jelly cubes and tutti fruti over it or keep a candied glazed cherry over it.
• Use a cling wrap and cover each and every individual mold.
• Let this set in refrigerator for 5-6 hrs which helps in enhancing and mixing up of flavors.Do not keep this in freezer,just keep it refrigerated.

Serve it cold.
Notes:

1. There are no hard rules while layering the pudding,you can use the quantities as you wish and also layer them in the order you wish.
2. You can use the fruits according to your taste.
3. I suggested strawberry/raspberry flavored jelly as it makes the trifle colorful.But there is no hard rule for it you can use the jelly flavor of your choice.
4. Always set the desserts in refrigerator for few hours in order the flavors to get mixed and make the dessert tasty.

I am sending this to Rak's 'Celebrate SWEETS' event which was originally started by Nivedita.I am also sending this to Pari's 'Only-Sweets and Desserts' event which is being hosted by Gayathri.