What you need:
- 80g sponge (we bought a readymade sponge)
- 20ml sweet sherry
- 200g mixed berries (strawberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, raspberries)
- 100ml apple juice (not from concentrate)
- 50ml water
- 150ml white wine
- 3 leaves gelatine, soaked in water
- 140g caster sugar
- 25ml blackberry concentrate (cordial, not with sweeteners)
- 60g blackberries
- 300ml Graham’s organic whole milk
- 300ml Graham’s organic double cream
- 1 vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped out and reserved
- 6 egg yolks
- 60g caster sugar
- 284ml Graham’s organic double cream
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- sprinkles to decorate
- First make the custard.
- Place the milk, cream, vanilla pod and seeds into a thick-bottomed pan and place on a high heat until boiling.
- Meanwhile add the sugar to the yolks and beat immediately.
- Next, beat the eggs yolks until they are thickened and pale.
- Slowly pour half the hot mix onto the bowl of beaten eggs, whisking continually.
- Take the pan off the heat.
- Use a heat-proof spatula to scrape the egg and milk mix from the bowl back into the pan.
- Place back on a medium heat and stir with a spatula.
- Stir in a figure of eight to prevent hot spots forming.
- The mixture should begin to thicken within about 2 minutes.
- The perfect temperature is 82°C, and a thermoprobe thermometer is useful here.
- If you don’t have a probe, watch for little puffs of steam escaping from the side of the pan.
- These are a warning sign that the custard is getting too hot; take the pan off the heat and continue stirring.
- When the mix has thickened enough to coat the back of the spatula, take off the heat and strain immediately through a fine sieve to remove any small lumps which may have formed.
- Leave to cool before using on the trifle.
- While the custard is cooling, make the jelly.
- Bring the juice, water, cordial, wine and sugar to the boil before adding the blackberries.
- Boil for 2-3 minutes to extract the juice, turning the liquor slightly purple.
- Strain, removing the blackberries, then add the soaked gelatine and stir well until dissolved.
- Leave to cook slightly.
- Now cube the sponge into 1cm pieces and sprinkle onto the base of the trifle dishes (either 4 separate dishes or one large one), pour over the sherry and leave to absorb.
- Place some fruit in each dish on top of the sponge.
- Pour over the cooled jelly and refrigerate until set (about 2 hours).
- When the jelly is set, pour over the thickened, cooled custard.
- At this point it’s best to leave the trifles covered in the fridge overnight, but leave for a couple of hours at least.
- For the Chantilly cream, soft whip the double cream with the icing sugar (don’t over whip it), and pipe or spoon it over the set custard.
- Finally, sprinkle over a few hundreds and thousands and serve.
About this post -
Recipe and photo credits by- Grahams The family Dairy
