Pound cake or sponge cake — two one-pound loaves
Raspberry preserves — 8-ounce jar
Raspberry syrup — 8-ounce jar
Macaroons or Amaretti cookies — a handful, finely crushed
Slivered almonds — 4 tablespoons
Chopped candied fruit — 1/2 cup
Dessert sherry — 4 tablespoons (more if you prefer)
Custard


Eggs, two whole eggs, plus two egg yokes
Whole milk — 1 pint
Sugar — 1/4 cup
Vanilla extract — 1 teaspoon
Whipped Cream


Heavy whipping cream — 8 ounces
Sugar — 1 tablespoon
Vanilla extract — 1/8 teaspoon

Start by making small "sandwiches" of cake and raspberry jam. Each sandwich should measure roughly two-inches square and perhaps an inch thick. Line the trifle bowl with a layer of cake-and-jam sandwiches, leaving about 1/16 of space between each. Sprinkle finely crushed macaroons and slivered almonds on top. Add bits of candied fruit for color.

Add a second, similarly spaced, layer of cake-and-jam sandwiches — this layer running in a different preparation than the first. Sprinkle more crushed macaroons and slivered almonds. Top off with a third layer of cake-and-jam sandwiches. Moisten the cake-and-jam sandwiches with raspberry syrup and four tablespoons of dessert sherry. The photo, left, is what the "initial assembly" will look like. Do not worry about uniformity or neatness!