Orange Raspberry Trifle

Start by creating your pastry cream. Heat the milk and orange zest in a medium saucepan until the milk is almost boiling and is scalding hot. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until they're pale yellow and thick. Whisk in the cornstarch until combined. Stream in about 1/4 c of the hot milk into the bowl with the egg mixture, whisking the egg mixture as you do. Then, transfer the egg mixture into the pot with the hot milk.

Lower the heat to low and continuously whisk until mixture thickens - about 2 minutes. To check if the cream is thick enough, stop whisking every 15 seconds or so to see if the cream bubbles in the saucepan. If it does, then remove the pan from the heat.

Stir in the vanilla extract and heavy cream into the pastry cream before pouring the cream through a mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Use a spoon to scrape as much cream as you can through the sieve, leaving the lumpy bits left behind in the sieve.

Cover the pastry cream with a sheet of plastic wrap, directly placing the plastic onto the cream. Refrigerate the cream for at least 2 hours, until chilled.

Meanwhile, get started on the pound cake. Beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed, until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing each in well. Add the orange zest and mix to combine.

Next, add the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until they're incorporated. Pour in the orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla extract until they're also mixed into the batter. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Divide the pound cake batter among two greased mini loaf pans, or one greased 9-inch loaf pan. If using two mini loaf pans, bake the cakes at 350°F for approximately 40 minutes. If using a standard loaf pan, bake for approximately 1 hour. A toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes should come out clean.

Let the pound cakes cool on a wire rack until almost cool. Cut one of the mini pound cakes into 8 slices; reserve the second loaf to enjoy later. Let the 8 slices of cake cool completely before using. Before assembling, create the whipped cream by whisking the heavy whipping cream on high speed for 1 minute. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract before continuing to whisk on high speed for another 1 or 2, until soft peaks form.

To assemble, smear each slice of pound cake with raspberry preserves. Place 1 slice of pound cake in a tall and wide glass cup. Top with a heaping spoon full of pastry cream and a few fresh raspberries. Add a second slice of pound cake and again top with pastry cream and fresh raspberries. Add a large dollop of whipped cream to the very top. Repeat this step for the remaining servings.