Red Berry Trifle

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I agree with the previous two star review. This was expensive and time consuming and the results were disappointing. The custard was tasty, but I stirred and stirred for about 20 minutes and couldn't get it more thick then cream. I served this for Christmas brunch and I had lots of left overs. I thought the pound cake was OK. I might try to make the custard again in a smaller portion. If I can get it to thicken I might try this again, but I think I will look for different trifle recipes.

Tried this a second time and cut the recipe in half. Since my house is cold I made sure the eggs were warm enough, and whisked them by hand. The second time the recipe turned out great! For a special occasion I would make it again. I liked serving it in individual parfait glasses and making a smaller amount.

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I love I loved the flavor of it all. I had a hard time with the Cognac Cream. It did not thicken properly and I followed the recipe EXACTLY. I cooke the cream for over 10 minutes and it did not seem thick enough but was afraid to burn it or scramble it as Ina mentioned. I chilled it overnight and it was loose in the morning. What suggestions can anyone give me

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Another winning recipe from Ina! She never fails! For those persons who had difficultly making this recipe and blaming Ina, you really should calm it down. She tests each recipe dozens of times and uses nothing but the best ingredients. Try using better ingredients, better equipment and more culinary talent before criticizing her.

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The effort it took to prepare did not match the finished results. Like others, the dense cake, the thin custard... I have prepared other beautiful trifles from store bought ingredients with a more appealing result.

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This was definitely a hit! A few notes though as I see others were having some of the same problems I encountered, it really took 10-15 minutes for the cream to thicken. I panicked thinking it was starting to turn to scrambled eggs after 10 minutes, but just keep stirring on low heat and then it pulls together quickly. It is not the bright yellow you see on TV, it is more of a butter yellow. I used frozen pound cake. You will need 2 loaves and you should cut them thinner because they are very dense when cut as thickly as Ina recommends. Lastly, I would highly recommend liberally adding the framboise or else the cake is just too dry in comparison with the other creamy ingredients. It is a dish best prepared the night before so the liqueur and fruit can really soak in. Save the whipped cream for right before you serve it, but put all your layers together and saran wrap the top custard layer so you don't get a film. Enjoy!

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I love Ina but this recipe was a huge disappointment. I made all of the components as directed with decidedly mixed results. I agree on all counts with the previous reviewer. Instead of using my usual poundcake recipe, which I love, I made Ina's. I found it rather dry and 9 slices of it would have to be really saturated to accommodate a cup of the jam. The cognac cream was just a disaster. I, too, like most of the other reviewers cooked it WAY longer than the specified time and finally had to turn it off because part of the mixture began sticking to the bottom of the pan and the rest wasn't thickening. I did use it in the recipe because I had no choice, but it was still way too thin. To say it had a hint of cognac would be generous. I've made custard many times before and poundcake, too, but never with such disappointing results. Just a time-consuming, expensive dessert that didn't work. Sorry Ina, but it's the truth.

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The pastry cream thickened slightly after nearly 30 minutes of stirring but it wasn't nearly as thick as what was shown on the video. The consistency was like runny pudding. It tasted delicious as is but I couldn't use it in the trifle - it was just too thin. I've made pastry cream and custard many times before using various recipes but this is the first time that it didn't thicken enough. Very disappointing and insures that I'm not going to use this pastry cream recipe again. The expense of all the ingredients required doesn't make it worth a second attempt.

The cake was moist but really wasn't as flavorful as I hoped, given the ingredients. I think I could've gotten the same or better flavor using frozen or store-bought pound cake and with much less work.

Overall the entire recipe was a disappointment and produced an average cake and a pastry cream I had to throw out. I grade it a fail.

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I made this recipe for my family and the family I work for. Everyone was pleased. It was fairly easy. You must have patience with the cognac cream. It just takes a little while. I wouldn't use store bought pound cake as it tends to be dry. I agree with some of the others in that you need to be heavier handed with the Frambois.I will make this again. As tasty as it looks, I was very pleased with the outcome. Thanks Ina for another great recipe!

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That is so funny i made this custard and i panicked to. lol it did get to the texture of pudding and now i plan on making it for my sisters wedding. i love it. dose any one know how far in advance i can make the custard?

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Wow! Yes, I'll repeat what others have said numerous times - the cognac cream is to DIE FOR!!! Be patient and it will thicken and be glorious. Great crowd pleaser; have some leftovers and I found myself at the frige @ midnight with a big spoon and happy face. Another great one, Ina - thanks!