Chocolate Raspberry Trifle

Chocolate Raspberry Trifle

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup white sugar

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup white sugar

1 (10.75 ounce) package prepared pound cake

2 (10 ounce) packages frozen raspberries, thawed

8 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

1/2-1 cup mini chocolate chips

In a medium bowl, beat cream with 1/4 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, cream together cream cheese, lemon juice, vanilla and 1/2 cup sugar. Fold 2 cups of whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. Reserve remaining whipped cream.

Slice pound cake into 18 - 1/2 inch slices. Drain raspberries, reserving juice. Line the bottom of a 3 quart glass bowl or trifle bowl with one-third of the cake slices. Drizzle with some raspberry juice. Spread one-fourth of the cream cheese mixture over cake. Sift one-fourth of the cocoa over that. Evenly sprinkle chocolate chips over that. Sprinkle with one-third of the raspberries. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining cream cheese mixture, whipped cream and sifted cocoa (and chocolate chips if you like; or you could not out choc. chips on top and have that be a surprise). Cover and refrigerate 4 hours before serving.

*Note: If you can't get the whipped cream into the right consistency, it turns out delicious if you just mix all the cream in with the cream cheese mixture, even if it's a little liquidy, while chilling it will come to the right consistency to be delicious.