Christmas Trifle

Merry Christmas to all my wonderful readers and subscribers!

I hope you are all sufficiently pot-bellied and relaxed after your delish Christmas lunches and dinners. What was on the menu at your feast?

I had the pleasure of putting on the Christmas feast this year and even though I made a selection of desserts for the family to enjoy, we all were excited about mum’s trifle.

Trifle is of English origin and a great Aussie fave. To the uninitiated , it can be a little frightening at first glance. A right royal mess- layers of booze soaked sponge cake, custard, jelly, cream and fruit. Haven’t you ever heard that sometimes the most unappealing looking food is the tastiest? Well, it’s definitely true in this case!

This dessert is fairly easy to prepare, with basic ingredients. Presentation can be a bit of a challenge, but if you have a pretty bowl and layer everything as neatly as possible, it can look great.

No matter who you talk to, they will all have a different Trifle variation. Do you have a family Trifle variation?

Ours has remained constant throughout the years with only a few tweaks here and there.

Here’s the recipe for my mum’s trifle. Love it or hate it, Trifle combines all my favourite things- custard, cream, fruit, booze and jelly in a layered wonderland of flavours.

 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Jam Rollette sponge or sponge cake, sliced into 2-3cm pieces
• 2 cups prepared custard (we make ours from custard powder, the pre-made one in cartons can be a little too sweet, but certainly useable)
• 1 packet of port wine jelly
• 1 packet of raspberry jelly (make ahead if possible)
• 1/2 cup marsala
• 1 can sliced peaches
• 2 cups double cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 Flake chocolate bar, crumbled
• 1 punnet strawberries, washed, hulled and halved

 

METHOD

1. Arrange sliced jam roll or sponge in the bottom of a deep glass bowl.

2. Prepare packet of port wine jelly according to directions, stirring to dissolve well. Add marsala and pour over the sponge to soak.

3. Arrange sliced peaches over the sponge.

4. Pour cooled custard over the sliced peaches. Refrigerate until the custard has set.

5. Break up refrigerated raspberry jelly with a fork and layer it on top of the cold custard.

6. The next layer is the cream. It can be whipped or you can use thicker double cream. Stir the icing sugar into the cream and spread it evenly over the jelly.

7. Top with crumbled flake chocolate and sliced strawberries and refrigerate at least 1-2 hours before serving.