Celebration Trifle

This was my solution to our Christmas Lunch dessert dilemma, easy to transport and make in advance.  I 'poshed' it up in a number of ways with what turned out to be great success, it really is delicious!

For the 'champagne' jelly:

300mls of pink cava or prosecco
4 leaves gelatine
100 mls water
1 tbsp caster sugar

10/12 cherries, halved
4  rectangular almond sponge fingers or biscuits

• Soak the gelatine leaves in the cava/prosecco
• Slowly bring the 100mls water to boil in a small pot with the caster sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar before it boils, simmer for 5 mins to make a slightly syrupy liquid.
• Remove the gelatine leaves, squeeze out any liquid then add to the pot and whisk into the syrupy liquid to dissolve.
• Add contents of the pot into the cava/prosecco and mix together.  Pour into the bowl you are using for the trifle, cool and place in the fridge to set.
• After a half hour and when just starting to set take a punnet of 250/300g cherries and drop some halved cherries into the jelly, they should not sink to the bottom but be suspended in the jelly.  Push the almond sponges or biscuits into the jelly in the shape of a star.  Return to fridge to set fully.

As it sets prepare the rest of the cherries:

• Half the rest of the cherries and place in a shallow pot or frying pan with 2 tbsp caster sugar
• Over a low heat warm the cherries and melt the sugar
• When slightly softened turn up the heat and tip the pan over the gas flame (or use a gas lighter if you dont have a gas hob) and add a tbsp of amaretto - it should catch fire, the alcohol will burn off and flambe the cherries.  Remove from the heat and cool.

With the jelly in the fridge and the boozy cherries cooling you can make the custard and the amaretti crumble:

• In a bowl blend together  3 egg yolks, 1 tbsp caster sugar and a tsp cornflour
• Scrape seeds from one vanilla pod
• Gently heat 10 fl oz of double cream in a pot until just before boiling point
• Pour the cream over the egg mixture, whisking as you go until all combined.
• Return the mixture to the pot and gently heat until it starts to thicken, whisking.
• Add the vanilla seeds.
• A thick consistency is needed, then remove from heat and cool quickly, stirring now and then to ensure lumps dont form.
• As it cools crush 6/8 amaretti biscuits to a fine crumb and set aside.

When the jelly is totally set and the cherries and custard cool you can begin to assemble it:

layer the custard over the jelly

spoon over the boozy cherries

cover with the amaretti biscuit crumb

Return to the fridge to keep cool.  The prep the double cream topping:

• 10fl oz double cream - whisked to medium consistency.
• 3/4 of the cream is smoothed over the trifle in a single layer and the remainder is piped decoratively around the outside of the trifle.

To finish:

• Spun sugar -  to make spun sugar take a shallow frying pan or pot and add around 150g of caster sugar
• Heat very gently, do not stir!
• As the sugar melts and begins to turn into a golden brown caramel the pan can be tipped or shaken to incorporate any unmelted sugar
• When golden brown remove from heat
• Place a large sheet of baking parchment in front of you
• You will also need a knife sharpening steel or the handle of a long wooden spoon, plus an ordinary spoon
• Dip the small spoon into the caramel and flick it backwards and forwards over the steel or spoon handle (held up at shoulder height over the parchment) until strands form
• Gently gather the strands and shape as desired
• Alternatively pour the caramel onto the parchment in a large pool and once set break it into shards to decorate



a fine dessert and delicious to eat

• Fine grated  dark chocolate would also be a good alternative to spun sugar ;-))