Goh great or go home! There is so much joy in making a giant trifle, getting a huge serving spoon, having people dig — and then going in for seconds. When British fruit is at its peak, you can’t go wrong with a little custard on the side. For this little something I used bought ladyfingers, but you can use sliced Madeira cake instead if you prefer. And if jelly isn’t your thing, that’s okay too: just cover the sponge with fresh berries before scooping it onto the custard.
Big fat summer trifle
You will need a large trifle dish for this, and to start with the day before.
Preparation 20 minutes
Cook 30 minutes
Hang out 4 hours +
Serves 10-12
for the custard
800 ml whipped cream
100 g caster sugar
1 vanilla podscraped (or 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste)
3 eggsplus 3 egg yolks
A good pinch of salt
for the jelly
5 gelatin sheets
500 ml elderflower and apple juice
Collect
1 x 175g pack of lady fingers
400 g seasonal berries (strawberries, raspberries, etc.)
600 ml whipped creamgently beaten
chocolate sprinklesup (optional)
Make the custard first. In a saucepan, heat the cream with half the sugar and the vanilla until it evaporates. In a bowl, beat the eggs and egg yolks with the remaining 50 g sugar and salt until combined.
Bring a pan of water to the boil and place a heatproof bowl on top, making sure it doesn’t touch the water. Pour the hot cream over the egg mixture, beat well, pour everything into the heatproof bowl and cook, stirring occasionally with a whisk, 25-30 minutes, until the custard has slightly thickened: if you stir the whisk you get brand Note that the mix has more body and is not completely runny.
Pour the custard into a heatproof bowl, allow to cool completely and refrigerate overnight.
Now for the jelly. Soak the gelatin in a bowl of ice cold water. In a small saucepan, gently heat the elderflower and apple juice until steaming. When the gelatin has softened, squeeze out any excess water, add the leaves to the juicer and stir with a whisk until melted. Set aside as you begin to build the trifle.
Place a layer of the ladyfingers in the bottom of a large trifle bowl – no need to be exact – and sprinkle some of the fruit over it. Pour the jelly mix over it, let it cool to room temperature and then put it in the fridge for at least four hours to set. During this time, the ladyfingers will absorb quite a bit of liquid, but don’t be alarmed.
Once the jelly has set, sprinkle over the remaining fruit and spoon the now cold and thick custard on top. Top with lightly whipped cream and, if you’re anything like me, some sprinkles, and serve cold.
