Strawberry - cream Trifle pudding

This is a very quick to prepare and colorful dish good to go for any party . There would not be anyone who does not like strawberry .The combination which I used here is cake , custard , strawberries and cream . Today there was one potluck party and I  presented this dish. In fact I did not refer any site for this recipe, I tried my own way and combinations to suit the demand of the kids too.It was a 25 member party and this one is an easy dish you can prepare in no time and for any quantity of people.  I was happy that the dish got a good response from the party attendees.  

(For the preliminary steps you can refer my cake custard pudding or ice cream with fruit salad recipe.)The rest of the preparation is nothing but layering all the ingredients . You can use your ideas and creativity for this but here I am just giving a sample of what I did. Though this is simple , it requires some planning as it needs minimum of four hours setting time.

Serves 10 guests

INGREDIENTS:

• Pudding cake - 12 slices (You can use home made cakes or ready cake mixes also for this recipe. I normally use the vanilla flavored pudding cake available in bakery section of any grocery stores ) If you like flavors then you can use flavored cakes also, but I like to keep everything simple and elegant to suit all taste buds.
• Vanilla flavored custard powder- 3 tablespoons ( I use the Brown and Polson available in Indian stores but you can also use the instant vanilla pudding mix available in walmart)
• Cream - I used the Easy frost as that can be used easily as the name suggests for garnishing . You can also use heavy whipping cream . 
• Strawberry jam - 5 tablespoons ( this also can be substituted with any mix fruit jam or jellies as per your wish )
• Strawberries - 6 sliced lengthwise
• m&m's - to garnish (I used this to attract kids which indeed worked well.)
• Whole milk - 4 cups 
• Sugar - 1 cup

How to Prepare: 

Step 1: Prepare custard at least three hours before you start making the pudding.

For this first step is keep aside 1/2 cup milk and mix the custard powder in it and stir well to avoid lumps .keep aside. 

Boil the rest of the milk with the sugar  till it reaches a bubbling stage . Add the milk+custard mix to it and continue stirring to avoid lump formation. Switch off flame when the consistency of custard reaches optimum (flowing but thick). 

Keep aside for cooling. When it comes down to room temperature keep it refrigerated for about half an hour to chill . Keep stirring in between so that it does not become too thick.

 (For pictures refer ice cream with fruit salad recipe)

Step 2: Take a clean and dry pudding serving dish (Preferably flat base one which has a height of 6 inches).

Crumble the cake pieces on the bottom to make the base . Pour the custard over it evenly. Now spread the jam over it and layer few strawberry pieces over it . Again add one layer of crumbled cake pieces and pour custard over it . Over this layer spread some whipping cream /easy frost and layer some strawberry pieces over it . Keep in doing this layering till you reach three forth of the serving dish. Now turn to garnish. You can decorate your pudding with cream , jam and m&m's in your creative way . 

Step 3: Keep chilled covered with a cling film for about four to five hours.This is the setting time . Serve chilled.

You would be able to cut in like cake pieces if it is perfectly set. It would be good if you provide a short handled flat spoon which with the guests can take it easily .