My Version of "Wild Wilma"

Actually, I have no idea whether there is such a dessert as "Wild Wilma", but there is one called "Wilde Hilde" in German, and since that rhymes only in German but not in English, I have decided to call it "Wild Wilma" and show you my own version of it.

The classic way to prepare a "Wilde Hilde" is with raspberries, but this time of the year is closer to strawberry season in my area, and I prefer using seasonal products whenever possible. Also, the classic recipe calls for either amarettini or meringues; I chose the biscuits sometimes known as sponge fingers or ladyfingers - simply because I had enough leftover from the last time I had made a Tiramisu.

Last year, I was at a friend's birthday party, and someone brought a "Wilde Hilde" (made the classic way). I really liked it, and so I decided to make one when my mother asked me to bring dessert for our family gathering on Easter Sunday.
It is very easy to make, does not involve baking and only takes about half an hour to 45 minutes.

You need
- minimum 750 g of berries (strawberries, in my case; and next time I will use more)
- 3 packs of cream
- an unspecified amount of dry cookies such as amarettini or biscuits; they need to "crumble" easily
- vanilla sugar and cream stabilizer (sold worldwide under the German name of "Sahnesteif" by a leading brand of baking ingredients)
- a large bowl

Wash the berries, remove stalks, cut into pieces if necessary - my strawberries were a bit on the large side, so I quartered them.
Break or crunch the biscuits into small bits; they should end up similar in size to the berries. Whip the cream with vanilla sugar and stabilizer until stiff.

Now take your large bowl and place a layer of crumbled cookies/biscuits on the bottom.
Add one layer of berries.

Spread a layer of cream on the berries.

Repeat until you have used up all the ingredients, ending with a layer of cream.

There is no need to press the layers in any way; they will soften or merge a little if you leave the bowl in the fridge long enough (minimum 3-4 hours), but the layers will and should still be discernible.

Remember that you will need more biscuits, berries and cream for the second layer than for the first, as your bowl is most likely wider towards the top than at the bottom, so do not use one entire half of the ingredients for the first layer, or you will run out of everything for the second. Leave a few berries to decorate the top layer of cream.

Cover the bowl and leave it in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours or until needed :-)

Everyone who was there on Easter Sunday enjoyed my "Wild Wilma" - there wasn't a single crumb left! My parents had prepared everything in their garden, and we were lucky with the weather; it wasn't very warm, but nice enough to sit outside and enjoy the sun for the afternoon.

When we arrived, the table was laid like this:

I did not take a picture in a "before" and "after" style, but rest assured there was plenty of delicious food - plus chocolate bunnies for everyone!