Friday night pudding

I've made this dessert lots of times especially when I'm pressed for time - its super easy and delicious and can be made in the morning or even the night before and covered with cling wrap and hidden in the fridge until needed. Its hardly a recipe, more of a guideline on layering.



First it's leftover cake (lamingtons - my favourite, chocolate cake or even a bought vanilla sponge) broken up and placed in a pretty deep dish.
Sprinkle it with sherry or apple juice.
Spread with a layer of chocolate mousse (sometimes I make my own, sometimes I buy)
Spread a layer of fruit e.g raspberries, strawberries - gooseberries are good with the vanilla cake, but then I would probably use a vanilla mousse.
Finally spread with a layer of cream.
Decorate with a sprinkle of almonds/grated chocolate/toasted coconut/light dusting of cocoa powder.

There are so many alternatives. Use custard instead of mousse or add a thin layer of caramel over the cake for a richer finish, before the mousse layer. You could use a double layer of fruit for a lighter taste (before and after the mousse) or replace half the cream with fat-free smooth cottage cheese (or mascarpone). Lightly poached pears are also sublime with the chocolate (or use a can in natural juice).

My uncle loved this the last time he was here. It's kind of a modern trifle. Yum!