Wilda's English Trifle

Oh mercy. This is what I’ve waited all summer for.

I called Southridge Farms the other day and was delighted to learn that they have some early peaches in. My son and I made a quick trek down to Santaquin to pick up a bag. You can’t beat fresh, farm-grown peaches. Grocery store peaches just do not compare. They are peach sacrilege! (By the way, while at the barn, we sampled their fresh-squeezed apple juice, and it took every ounce of will I have within me to resist buying a huge jug. I just came for peaches this time. But I’ll be back!)

In our family, fresh peaches mean that it’s time to make this lovely dessert. The recipe comes straight from a sweet little cookbook that my grandma made for all of her granddaughters a few Christmases ago. It's one of my treasures. Not only does it feature many of her culinary masterpieces, but it's just such a reflection on her personality—done scrapbook style with little tidbits of advice and lots of family photos. Plus it gives me hope that someday I can cook like her!

Also, I just want to state, for the record, that I make no promises as to it’s British authenticity. All I know is, Grandma calls it English Trifle. So no uppity Englishmen out there are allowed to tell me that’s not how their grandmother makes trifle, okay? :)

1 angel food cake
2-3 bananas (I'm not a banana fan, so I leave these out)
about 1 c. each of raspberries and blueberries
3-4 peaches, sliced
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 small package vanilla pudding
1 package raspberry Danish Dessert

Prepare the Danish Dessert according to the "Fruit Sauce" instructions on the back (though half a package seems to be plenty for me). Fold in the raspberries and let it cool in the fridge. Whip the cream, adding a few tablespoons of sugar. Prepare the pudding as well.

Break 1/3 of the cake into small pieces and layer bottom of a trifle bowl (before I invested in one of these, I just used a regular large bowl. It's not as pretty, but it works). Cover with a layer of pudding, then a layer of the raspberry mixture. Slice bananas (if using) and place a layer of those, followed by peaches and blueberries. Lastly, put on a layer of whipped cream. Repeat layers.

Oh, and don't be too OCD about the layers. They don't have to cover the entire bowl; I mostly just do a glob here and a glob there. You really can't go wrong with this dessert. My grandma even uses frozen fruit sometimes, but in my opinion, the fresh peaches absolutely make this dish! Try it, you won't be disappointed!