Around the World in 80 Plates: England (cont)

My Nan was my favourite person when I was growing up. She was funny and loving and she loved to be in the kitchen baking buns and making jam and I loved being by her side to be her taste tester! I like to think I take after her like that and every time I'm in the kitchen I think about her and what she would think of me making things from scratch.

Another memory that always stands out is how she would say she wasn't hungry and would just like a few berries with cream instead of supper. It always amused me that she wanted to forgo the heavier meal but always had room for something sweet.

Today I present something that I know my Nan would have passed on supper for...Trifle! It is a dish I used to make before but previously I had used a store bought angel food cake and tinned custard. I wasn't really sure I could replicate the cake...until I found the perfect recipe for Vegan Sponge Cake in Bryanna Clark Grogan's World Vegan Feast. Bryanna has included a recipe for a delicious sounding trifle but I only used the cake recipe for this particular one. I had already imagined based on my Nan's love of berries and cream what I wanted to layer with the light and airy cake. Fresh Ontario strawberries sprinkled with just a touch of sugar, a healthy dose of Healthy Top, a jar of homemade strawberry jam from early in the berry season (I used the recipe from Canning for a New Generation), a little bit of Lavender Lemon Curd (recipe from Joni's new book Vegan Food Gifts) and a bit of custard I made using a mix which was less than perfect so I used it sparingly). I skipped the traditional bit of sherry since Kiddo would be eating it and we don't really have any alcohol in the house but you could totally add it for a more traditional flavour. I baked the cake in small tube pans and tore it into bite sized pieces to make it easier to serve and to make sure you got a bite of everything in each spoonful. The cake is absolutely perfect and tastes delicious. It was quick and simple to make, Bryanna is truly a genius but I'm sure we all know that by now!

Mac seriously loved this dessert and has been talking about it since and how we should make that again...really soon he always adds. You can see below he couldn't contain himself and got right in there with his little fingers as I was taking my picture of all those beautiful layers. After finishing off his first taste of it, he quietly reached over and pulled the trifle bowl closer to him and grinned at me and without saying a word I knew he wanted seconds, just like Nan would have.

It might look a little messy but it tastes like heaven!