Retro Trifle
I can’t think of many other things as inviting as massive bowl of Trifle. It’s just itching to have a whopping great spoon dug into all those layers. It’s definitely one for a large gathering. It may seem like a lot of effort to make this delicious dessert from scratch but trust me, it’s worth it (especially as it’s spread over 2 days.) Feel free to have some freedom with the flavours and choose whichever berries are in season!
Ingredients - makes one large trifle (serves 10-12)
Jelly layer:
Half a loaf of madeira cake (shop bought or homemade - I used this Delia Smith recipe)
160g caster sugar
400ml water
500g frozen summer fruit berries
5 gelatine leaves (I used Dr Oetker)
Juice of a lemon
150g fresh raspberries
200g fresh cherries
Custard layer:
300ml whole milk
400ml double cream (divided into 2 x 200ml)*
1/2 vanilla pod
6 egg yolks
100g caster sugar (divided into 2 x 50g)
40g custard powder
Cream topping:
500ml double cream
1/2 vanilla pod (or a tsp of vanilla extract)
25g caster sugar
Toasted flaked almonds, to garnish
Glacé cherries, to garnish
*900ml of double cream needed in total to make the trifle
Method
The day before:
Start by cutting your Madeira loaf into 1inch cubes and place into the bottom of your trifle bowl. De-stone a half of the cherries and scatter over the sponge along with half of the raspberries. For the jelly; place the sugar, water, frozen berries and lemon juice into a saucepan. Place over medium heat until it comes to the boil. Meanwhile, soak your gelatine leaves in cold water. Once the berries have come to a boil, continue to cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain out the berries. I like to keep these to go on top of yoghurt or ice cream.
While the jelly liquid is still hot, squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves and add into the liquid. Stir to dissolve the gelatine. Pour the jelly over the sponge and fresh berries. Place into the fridge overnight.
For the custard; place the whole milk, 200ml of double cream, 50g of sugar, vanilla pod and scraped seeds into a saucepan. Lightly whisk to combine and place the pan over medium heat. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, remaining 50g of sugar and custard powder until combined. Once the milk mixture is just about simmering, slowly pour it into the egg yolks whilst whisking. Once all of the hot milk has been added, pour the custard back into the saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Whisk continuously until the custard begins to bubble. Continue to cook for 1 minute, being careful that the custard doesn’t catch. Pour the thickened custard into a container and place a piece of clingfilm on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Leave to cool completely before refrigerating overnight.
The next day:
Take your trifle out of the fridge along with the custard. Using a spatula, beat the custard until smooth. If you like a firmer custard layer you can whip the remaining 200ml of double cream before folding into the knocked back custard. If you like it relatively soft, simply pour the 200ml of cream into the custard and whisk until combined. Spoon a thin layer of custard onto the jelly before arranging over the rest of the raspberries and cherries (keeping 6 pretty cherries for the top.) Layer over the rest of the custard.
For the cream topping; whisk together the double cream, vanilla and sugar until you have medium-soft peaks. Spoon over the custard and spread to the edges. Return the whole trifle to the fridge for at least 4 hours to firm up.
Top with glace cherries, toasted flaked almonds and a few fresh cherries before serving. Enjoy!