Isn’t this the season of festivities ? Every time I go out to a mall the colors that surrounds me from the adornments,the reds,the whites,the greens are wonderful and mesmerizing.Every blog I go through has some delicious gift idea to offer,from cookies to logs and cakes.Even though I don’t celebrate Christmas there’s an event I look forward to every December since the last ten years.
That’s my beloved’s birthday.Even though we don’t cut cakes and celebrate in a traditional way I make something special for him.Last time,I surprised him with a Tie cake,I still can’t believe I decorated a cake to look like a tie,and a quite evening tea with snacks.
But I must admit,there have been times in the past that I’ve forgotten all about his birthday until he, tired of giving clues finally reminded me it’s his birthday.I wanted to go hide,what excuse am I going to give him when my clumsy brain didn’t have it in a memory chip for the second year in a row.
Nevertheless,I still had excuses.I was buried deep in my work,frantically trying to get things going when my division was under the threat of closing down.That was before getting married.
But the most embarrassing of all was,three years into marriage, my mother-in-law calling to ask what I did for her son’s big day leaving me speechless.Finally I was able gather my scattered thoughts and mumble something to her.Where in the world was my phone,events,reminders and dates ? I hadn’t kept track of the date.yes.Things were settled when my hubby said “It’s all cool.You were busy with the babies”.Oh! poor thing!
And from that day on wards I make sure I keep reminders and notes not to forget another birthday.
Have you forgotten a loved one’s birthday ? How did it feel ?
And this time,I made his favorite cake,The Coffee Trifle from the class I attended at Mrs.Yvonne’s which I was talking about in my
Mint Custard Pudding post.
A light and airy sponge cake soaked in coffee and fruit syrup,sandwiched and covered in a coffee custard and topped with chocolate ganache.A burst of coffee,coffee flavored custard and fruit pieces delight you in every bite,making it a perfect treat for a coffee lover.No wonder we,big coffee lovers, truly relish this dessert.
Even though I have presented this in a cup,I highly recommend you make it in a dish and cut it into pieces like in the photo above,that’s how I like it so I won’t overindulge.Trust me! this cake is quite addictive.
Coffee Trifle
Ingredients:
*Custard
2 cups milk
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp prepared coffee*
*Sponge cake
3 eggs
1/2 cup castor sugar
3/4 cup cake flour
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 canned fruit mix in syrup,drained and juice reserved
*1 cup coffee(1 tsp instant coffee mixed with 1 cup hot water)
50g dark chocolate pieces and 4tbsp cream melted for the ganache
Method
(You can use a store bought sponge cake or a white cake mix)
*For the sponge cake
Preheat the oven to 170C.Sift the flour.Place the eggs and sugar in a heat-resistant bowl and beat for a minute.Place the bowl in simmering hot water and keep beating on high speed for 2 to 5 mins until the mixture resembles cream and comes to a soft peak stage like in a whipped cream.Remove it from hot water,whisk it a little bit and fold the flour gently.Melt the butter and mix it with milk and it to the flour mix.Add vanilla.Fold gently until all the ingredients are well combined.
Line a 8”inch square pan,dust it with flour,pour the cake mixture and pick and drop the pan twice to release air bubbles trapped inside.Bake for 25 minutes.Once removed from the oven pick and drop the pan again to avoid the cake shrinking and cool it on a wire rack.Cut the cake in half.
*For the custard
Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a bowl.Add the flour,whisk to remove any lumps and add in 1 cup of milk.Heat the other remaining cup of milk.Don’t let it boil.Add the egg yolk mixture to the simmering milk and keep on whisking till the mixture becomes custardy or thick.Remove from fire and add the butter,vanilla essence and 2 tbsp coffee mixture.
*Assembling
Place one half of cake in a serving dish,or pieces of cake if you’re serving in a cup,soak the cake with coffee and then the drained fruit syrup till you’ve covered the cake.Next smooth half of the custard mixture on top of the soaked cake,place the fruit pieces on top and place the other half cake.Soak the cake with coffee and fruit syrup then the custard.
Add the ganache on top and finish off with dark chocolate shavings.
The recipe might seem long and cumbersome but if you use store bought sponge cake this can be put together in just 15-20 minutes.The whole cake took me less than 1 hour to make.
Just look at the coffee and syrup soaked spongy cake with the custard and chocolate.Don’t you think it’s such a nice way to treat your loved one’s to a piece of coffee trifle this holiday season ?
Perfect way to celebrate the special day….
The trifle looks absolutely stunning
Great way to celebrate the special day. the trifle looks absolutely delish…wish I could just dig in.
I adore trifle (probably no surprise due to the custard) and the flavours in this one sound lovely.
Perfect for a loved one's Birthday. Trifle looks absolutely delicious!
Wow, thats very nice!lovely presentation!
Priyanka,Nisa,LifenSpice and Shabs Thanks ladies for your lovely words.
Sally,I adore trifle too and you should try this one out.
Beautiful photographs, the trifle looks delecious.. esp since it has coffee, im gonna try it! 🙂
Oh, my. This is leaving me insanely hungry at my desk! My fiance LOVES (I mean seriously loves) trifle so he'd be more than pleased if I made him this 🙂
I love trifles! And anything with coffee in it, I am sold 🙂
Will have to try this very soon
Thanks Deeps,Yasmeen and Zee,the coffee lovers.try it out and let me know..
Love your idea of celebrating birthday with trifles. I want one. Right now 😀
BTW, thanks for visiting my blog 🙂
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com
I LOOOOVE Trifle! Especially berry trifle!
This looks appetising!
This trifle looks delicious, thanks for the recipe!
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Happy birthday to your beloved. Loved reading your past tales. Happy Holidays!!
looks absolutely delecious.. perfect bday present 🙂
kiran,Arwa,Deeba,Tasmeea,Deeps thanks girls for your loveliness..
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