Blueberry Trifle from @MaddieDayAuthor

MADDIE DAY here, enduring a very hot stretch of weather in New England.

Yes, this native southern Californian will never again say New England isn't hot enough in the summer for me. I promise! Still, I had three writer friends coming over for dinner on the deck. I didn't want to bake, but I have lots of plump, sweet blueberries from my own bushes ready for the using. What better dessert to serve than trifle? I didn't even need a recipe, because it's been in my head for decades.

I knew trifle was a British dessert, and I remember I first started making it in college, but I've lost track of who first served it to me. Amanda's Cooking tells us trifle is a Scottish invention. "The Scots have recipes that date back to the late 1500’s! Of course hundreds of years ago, Scotland and England united to become the United Kingdom, so calling the trifle “English” is fair. ;-)"

I love trifle partly because it's all desserts in one: cake, fruit, custard, cream - and an after-dinner drink. How can you go wrong with that? Don't be surprised if you see it appear served at Robbie Jordan's Country Store restaurant next year sometime. Without further ado, I present you Blueberry Trifle.

Blueberry Trifle

As you can see in what follows, I used store-bought shortcuts for several of these ingredients. It would, of course, be even more delicious if you used home-baked pound cake, a real custard, and real whipped cream. But it was hot, I’d been working most of the day on my work-in-progress, and I felt like being easy on myself. And everyone who tasted it said the dessert was fabulous. I thanked them, and silently agreed.

Ingredients

Oops, forgot to include the milk in the picture!

Four thick slices pound cake, store-bought or homemade

Brandy, sherry, or strawberry jam

2-3 cups fresh blueberries, peaches, strawberries, or other soft summer fruit

1 package non-instant vanilla pudding mix or homemade vanilla custard

2 cups whole milk

1 banana

Whipped cream, store-bought or home whipped (but never Cool Whip, please)

Note: I wanted to serve my friends individual servings, but I also wanted plenty for Hugh (and me) for a day or two, so I used four squat glasses, plus a 7-inch glass bowl. I no longer own a trifle bowl, but the dessert looks extra nice in a straight-sided glass bowl on a pedestal. Don’t worry – any 9-inch bowl will work. Here's the dish Amanda's Cooking. See how pretty the layers look?

Directions

Cut cake into one-inch squares and cover the bottom of the bowl. Drizzle brandy, sherry, madeira, or a flavored liqueur on the cake. (If you avoid spirits, spread it with a layer of the jam of your choice.) Let it sit for twenty minutes.

After ten minutes, cook pudding according to directions. Remove from heat.

 

Slice banana into quarter-inch slices and lay evenly on top of cake pieces. 

Gently spoon warm pudding over all the pieces of cake and banana. 

Spread blueberries evenly over pudding, pressing in slightly.

Let cool thirty minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours.

 

Spread with another layer of blueberries and top with whipped cream.

 

Serve to your guests with a glass of the same liquor you soaked the cake with, or enjoy with a nice cup of tea and a good mystery.

Readers: What's your favorite summer dessert? What about favorite trifle flavors?

My most recent release is Batter Off Dead, Country Store Mystery #10, out now!

My next release is Murder in a Cape Cottage, the fourth Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery, out September 27.

"Scarfed Down," my Country Store novella in the collection Christmas Scarf Murder releases the same day.

We hope you'll visit Maddie and her Agatha Award-winning alter ego Edith Maxwell on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.