Red Berry Trifle

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Made it once a few months and heard only rave rave reviews!! So... decided to make again but doubled the recipe b/c my trifle dish is really upside domed cake stand and well... as if making the cream isn't tricky enough..doubling it?!? what was I thinking!? In the end, it came out well - tastes great but every second of the process, I was kicking myself for not just making it twice vs. doubling it. It took a very long time for it to thicken at end - the pot I chose prob wasn't the best. So, while the cream is tasty, it ins't "shiny" like she describes in the video. I also thought the pound cake is on the dry side but with the cream..you can't really tell! :

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This is a rich and beautiful dessert made exact to her recipe. I have made it twice once for Christmas Eve and Christmas the next year and my family and friends love it. Good thing you can make some parts ahead of time b/c it is time consuming but in the end it is totally worth it! The cognac custard is fantastic, fresh berries gives you a lightness to the heavier parts of the dish. I had no problem with the custard thickening, but if you do have a problem you always can make slurry (combined cornstarch or arrowroot with cold water then add into custard while still cooking on stove. My husband is not a dessert person but gobbles this up. This one of my favorite desserts and will be a tradition for my family each year!

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This trifle is awesome!! i have also made it a few times and it is always a hit. I have made it with store bought pound cake and this last time I made Ina's recipe and I can definitely tell the difference. The home made recipe is excellent. I have always had success when I use Ina's recipes!

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I have made this trifle 5-6 times so far, and have gotten rave reviews on each one. The cognac cream really is the star of the show. I've never had a problem getting it to thicken up as some others have, but I've always made sure to use whole milk and the extra large size eggs--make sure they are at room temperature. I also cook the custard in a double boiler so there is less chance of scorching. I've tried this recipe with and without the raspberry liqueur, and it really is better with it. I've also made one using amaretto and another with triple sec--depending on what fruit I'm using in the trifle, and those are great too. I've always used store bought pound cake so I can't comment on Ina's recipe, but with all the fruit, jam, liqueur and cognac cream, I'm not sure you would be able to tell the difference between home-made and frozen. All I know is my guests love it and at least one person always asks for the recipe.

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My friends DID love it! Served at an early summer party and it was all gone by the end of the night - people said it tastes like strawberry shortcake - the cognac cream was wonderful. I used a frozen Sarah Lee pound cake instead of home-made, and I skipped the raspberry jam and made the layers of berries with a raspberry sauce made out of sauteed raspberries + 1 cup sugar (threw in some strawberries into the sauce at the end and let cool before adding to the trifle.

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This was a big hit even with the non-sweets-eaters on Christmas Eve.
I thought it was just so-so; but, I had leftover cognac cream and pound cake which I decided to freeze...amazingly, defrosted, it tasted even better when I assembled all the parts a week later! Who knew?

Also, I used Chambord and mixed it with the jam, then spread it on the pound cake (made Ina's & it was fab!. The cognac cream took a lot of patience but I got it to the right consistency and after a rest in the fridge, it didn't separate or thin out (yea!..next time I think I would add a splash more cognac. Thank you Ina & Happy New Year!!

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I love her recipes but how did you get this cream thick?! I wasn't going to write a review but I saw today on her show a pastry cream that was pretty much the same as this cognac cream except for one thing! 5 egg yolks and not 10! I'm not the best baker. I enjoy cooking more, but I think this might have had something to do with the runny outcome?! Yet people made it beautifully. So strange. Oh well..almost a dozen eggs wasted.

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DEAR GOD! This recipe went over SO well!! In-laws coming over? Dinner at the bosses house? Make this and all your dreams will come true! Couldn't really taste the cognac, (which was fine for me, however, if you want to taste it, add more.

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I made this for Christmas Eve and it was delicious. My cream was beautifully thick and I followed the recipe exactly. I did purchase the pound cake because I ran out of time and I also used fresh strawberries but frozen raspberries and it was still wonderful. My husband is not a fan of sweets but he had 3 helpings and declared this his new favorite. I will be making this again this weekend for another party!

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I read all the reviews and thought, "Hey, that non-thickening of the cognac cream won't happen to me... I'm a wonderful cook!" Well guess what, it did. No thickening. I stirred for over an hour, finally turned up the heat and got soft scrambled eggs. The whole mixture tasted like cornstarch and sugar. Really disgusting. Ina, I generally adore your recipes, but now I'm scouring the internet for another pastry cream recipe so that I can salvage dessert for tomorrow (New Year's Eve. Such a disappointment!!!