Instructions

For the cake

1. In a large bowl, sift together the first 6 ingredients. Add the coffee, buttermilk, eggs, oil and vanilla and mix until just combined.
2. Transfer the batter to a parchment-lined baking pan (I did not do this, as evidenced by the above picture).
3. Bake at 325˚F for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes, then flip the cake out onto a wire rack. Let cool completely before assembling the trifle.

For the chocolate pudding

1. Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt in a large saucepan. Gradually whisk in milk and cream.
2. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking constantly. Boil until mixture thickens, about 2 minutes — it will get thick very quickly.
3. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and vanilla quickly. Continue whisking until smooth.
4. Transfer to a bowl and chill, placing a piece of plastic wrap directly on the pudding to prevent a skin from forming (unless you like pudding skin, then just wrap the bowl itself). Chill until cold, at least 2 hours.

For the whipped cream

1. Chill a large metal bowl and the beaters from an electric mixer in the freezer for 20 minutes.
2. Pour the whipping cream, vanilla and salt in the cold bowl and mix on high speed until firm peaks form.

Assemble the trifle

1. Cut the cake into 2-inch pieces. Place in the bottom of a trifle bowl or a large, high-sided clear glass bowl, leaving no space in between. Cut smaller slices to fill spaces as necessary.
2. Top the cake layer with half of the chocolate pudding, spreading it into any spaces in the cake layer and smoothing the top so that it is as flat as possible.
3. Remove about 30 whole raspberries from the bag of frozen ones (if not using fresh ones). Sprinkle half of the rest of the bag, including the pieces on top of the pudding layer.
4. Top the raspberries with a thick layer of whipped cream, smoothing out the berries so that the top of the partially-assembled trifle is flat.
5. Repeat the cake, pudding, raspberries and whipped cream layers. Decorate with either the whole frozen raspberries or the fresh ones.