Trifles in cups

A very convenient dessert in terms of assembly, time-saving, and impressive presentation - trifles in cups. Essentially, it is a full cake, but already divided into portions. The containers for these mini-cakes must be transparent, glass or plastic, to clearly see all the layers. These can be beautiful glasses, cups, salad bowls.

The biscuit, cream, and berry filling can be any, just like in a regular cake. In this example, it is suggested to combine chocolate sponge, strawberry jam, and sweet cream.

Yield: 5 servings (cup volume 220-230 ml).

Preparation time: 4 hours, including cooling periods.

Caloric content: 254 kcal per 100 grams of the dish.

Cuisine: British.

Ingredients

For the sponge:

• chicken eggs - 1-3 pcs;
• fine salt - a pinch;
• white sugar - 120 g;
• flour (wheat) - 90 g;
• dark or light cocoa - 20 g;
• baking powder - 5 g;
• any milk - 60 ml;
• odorless vegetable oil - 40 ml.

For the cream:

• 33% cream - 400 ml;
• very fine powdered sugar - 40 g.

For the fruit filling:

• frozen/fresh strawberries - 300 g;
• white sugar - 30 g,
• starch (preferably corn) - 15 g.

Preparation

1. Prepare the ingredients for the sponge. They must all be at the same temperature and not cold.

2. For the cream, thoroughly chill the cream, and additionally grind the powdered sugar in a mill so that no undissolved granules remain while whipping.

3. Prepare the products for the fruit filling. Strawberries go best with whipped cream, but they can be replaced with other berries, fresh or frozen.

4. Immediately preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Beat the eggs, sugar, flavor stabilizer, and salt to a very fluffy dense state - the trace of the whisk should not disperse immediately on the surface. This stable fluffiness guarantees that the sponge will rise well and be very delicate.

5. Immediately place all dry ingredients in a sieve and sift them directly into the egg mixture.

6. Pour in the milk. At low speed of the mixer, working it shortly, simply combine all the ingredients.

7. Add the oil immediately. Mix everything again.

8. If the pan is made of thin metal, it is better to wrap it additionally with foil to ensure even baking of the dough. Pour it into the prepared container, which can have a diameter of 18-20 centimeters.

9. Bake the sponge for 35 minutes. Its readiness will be indicated by a skewer, which pierces the highest point of the cake - the stick should come out clean and dry.

10. While the sponge is hot, it should not be touched so that the middle does not sink. After cooling, remove the cake from the mold, and when it becomes completely cold, wrap it in cling film and leave it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. After that, the sponge will be moderately moist.

11. In the free time, take care of the berry component. Blend the strawberries - you can leave some pieces not completely crushed - this will enrich the flavor.

12. Add sugar to the resulting strawberry puree.

13. In a separate cup, dilute starch with 30 milliliters of cold water.

14. Over low heat, bring the puree to a boil. Pour in the starch in a thin stream, continuously stirring the strawberries, and as soon as the first boiling bubbles appear, remove the pot from the heat.

15. To cool it faster, this pot can be placed in a bowl of ice water.

16. Remove the sponge from the film and divide it into 2 layers.

17. Then cut them into small cubes.

18. Prepare the cream. First, start whipping the cream at low speed. Gradually increase the speed. Do not overdo it in this process - it should only reach soft peaks.

19. Next, add the powdered sugar to the whipped cream.

20. After this, whip the cream to a firmly dense state, but here you also need to be careful (it can start to separate).

21. Now comes the most interesting part - assembling the dessert. For convenience, the cream can be placed in a pastry bag and the bottom of the cups can be closed with cream.

22. Then, place a layer of sponge cake cubes.

23. On top of them - strawberry jelly.

24. And again - cream.

25. Then - the final sponge cake layer.

26. Fill all the cups this way and send them to the fridge for a couple of hours to stabilize.

27. The trifles in cups are ready. The dessert can be decorated using chocolate grids, pieces of white or dark chocolate, the berries themselves, and mint leaves - there are no limits to creativity here. But it is advisable to do this just before serving the dessert at the table, so that the presentation looks fresh and colorful.