An English trifle is comprised of delicious layers; cake, fruit, cake, fruit and lavish helpings of whipped cream. It usually has custard somewhere in there too. After we ended up with quite a crop of rose geranium plants, we decided to try the pound cake described by the Herb Farm Cookbook.

It’s quite simple – just make your favorite pound cake recipe. Place the leaves of a rose geranium in a buttered baking tin and cook the pound cake in it. This leaves a delicate rose scent and flavor, especially on the outside.

We layered with strawberries and lemon curd, topping our homemade whipped cream with candied violets from my favorite Parisian store, Hediard. For the whipped cream, add 1-2 tablespoons of confectioner’s sugar or really fine sugar (we’ve cheated and used normal sugar, it’s passable) and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.