xmas month 2021 - very berry trifle
This trifle will feed a family and I want you to think of this as a suggestion rather than a recipe. You can choose the fruit and the flavour of the jelly and alcohol to suit your taste and the seasons. Instead of sponge cake, you could use meringues, jam rolls, sponge fingers or even macarons. If you’re serving the trifle to children you could use fruit juice, vanilla flavoured milk or sugar syrup instead of alcohol to soak the cake. If you like, you can make all the elements from scratch or you can purchase them, the choice is yours. I decided to buy a ready made sponge but made the jelly and custard from scratch.
Trifle can't be rushed and it's best made the day before serving then decorated on the day. You need time for the jelly to set and the custard to cool.
Very Berry Trifle
1 quantity berry jelly, recipe below
1 8 inch unfilled double layer sponge
cake
⅓ cup raspberry jam
¼ cup Marsala or sherry
500mls (2 cups) vanilla bean custard
250g punnet strawberries, halved and
sprinkled with 2 tsps sugar
300 mls cream
250g mascarpone
2 tbs caster sugar
To serve
punnets of fresh berries and a few
mint leaves or shaved pistachios
Berry jelly
3½ tsp gelatine powder
750 mls cranberry drink
½ cup caster sugar or to taste
125g frozen mixed berries
125g fresh strawberries, halved
Vanilla bean custard
1 cup full cream milk
1 cup thickened
cream
1 tsp vanilla bean
paste
4 egg yolks
1 tbsp cornflour
1/3 cup caster sugar
or to taste
Berry jelly
To make the jelly, place the gelatine
and ½ cup (125 ml) of the cranberry drink in a bowl and stir to combine. Set
aside for 5 minutes or until the gelatine is absorbed. Place the remaining
juice and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is
dissolved. Bring to the boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add
the gelatine mixture and stir to combine. Set aside to cool for an hour. Arrange
the berries over the base of a 4l trifle bowl then gently pour over the jelly
mixture. Refrigerate overnight or until set. The jelly will be softly set.
Vanilla bean custard
Combine milk, cream and the vanilla bean
paste in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly,
for 5 minutes or until hot (do not allow to boil). Remove saucepan from heat.
Whisk egg yolks, cornflour and sugar in
a microwave proof bowl until well combined. Pour the mixture through a sieve into
the saucepan. Return mixture to the stove and cook over low heat, stirring
constantly, for 15 to 20 minutes or until custard thickens and coats the back
of a metal spoon (do not allow custard to boil, as it might curdle). You can
also do this stage in the microwave. Cook on medium power for 3-4 minutes,
whisking every minute until the custard is thick and silky smooth. Cover the surface
with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming before refrigerating. The custard
will continue to thicken as it cools.
To assemble
If you like, trim the brown edges off the
cake, and cut to fit the trifle bowl. Spread a thin layer of jam over the base
of the sponge then gently place the sponge round over the berry jelly layer
before drizzling the top of the sponge with the Marsala. Carefully spoon the custard over the
sponge then refrigerate the trifle for a few hours to allow the flavours to develop.
Just before serving, whip the cream, mascarpone and sugar until soft peaks
forms. Top the trifle with a layer of sliced strawberries then cover the
strawberry layer with the whipped cream. Just before serving, decorate with the fresh berries
and mint leaves or chopped pistachios.
Something you can make ahead of time and feed a crowd. What's not to love? The trifle bowl is by Maxwell and Williams for work I did for Everten.
That's the last post for me for 2021. I'll be back next year with more baking and hopefully some travel as well.
Stay safe and well.
Bye for now,
Jillian
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