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The grand finale for 2012

It was not a sophisticated dessert....nor did it use any fancy ingredients....what it was, was a super kid-friendly dessert that will also please the kid in you...I literally resisted to make anything remotely fancy....not even a lemon pound cake...Not that it would not be good, but just that sometimes, very simple ingredients can really bring back childhood memories....cm'on it was New Year's Eve...we all deserved a little treat....

Trifle Pudding:
Cut pound cake into medium pieces (recipe to follow, or store bought is fine). In a big glass bowl start layering the following: cake pieces, raspberry jam, vanilla custard (recipe to follow), banana slices, strawberry slices, thinly sliced almonds. Repeat for two more layers. Decorate with strawberries and almonds. I didn't have heavy cream at home, but some whipped cream can be added too. The cake can also be drizzled with alcohol...but I tend to stay away from that. That's it...it's really that simple. Let it sit for about half an hour or so in the fridge and it's ready to serve. 

Plain Pound Cake:
It's an Ina Garten Recipe, which I halved (and modified slightly):
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/plain-pound-cake-recipe/index.html

Take out 1 stick of unsalted butter and 3 eggs on room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9" cake pan/loaf pan. In a small bowl, mix 1/3 cup of milk + 2 tbsp yoghurt + 1/2 tsp white vinegar + 1/2 tsp vanilla and let it sit for a few minutes. . Cream together a stick of softened butter + 1 cup of suger (it's really important to cream it till it's light and fluffy. Add two eggs and one egg yolk, one at a time and mix thoroughly after each addition. On a parchment paper, mix together  1 1/2 cup of flour, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt. Add the flour and milk mixture alternately in parts like so: 1/3 flour mixture  + 1/2 milk mixture + 1/3 flour mixture + 1/2 milk mixture + 1/3 flour mixture. Pour the prepared batter in the baking pan and bake for about 60 minutes. Check with a toothpick. 

Custard:
Usually, trifles use pastry cream, which is thicker, but since I don't use alcohol, it's  ok to use slightly thinner custard, and let the cake soak it all up. The custard recipe comes from an interesting source: 

Chocolate by the Bald Man:
Mix. 2 egg yolks + 2 teaspoons corn starch + 3/4 cup sugar + 1/2 cup cold milk. Heat 3 cups of milk, once small bubbles form around the edges, add the egg mixture and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add vanilla bean paste. 

To make hot chocolate, boil 1 cup milk, add to 6 ounces chocolate + add the custard and serve warm. 


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