Sunday trifle reciple

Sunday is a day off work.

So rather than tickle your brain cells I thought I’d tickle your taste buds.

Here’s one of my favourite recipes – a summer trifle.

Perfect at Christmas (down under) or on a balmy English summer’s day.

Ok, so what do you need?

There are five main components:

1. A genoise sponge cake

2. A fruit puree

3. Sweetened cream

4. Custard – you could make one from scratch, but I just use Bird’s custard powder and a microwave

5. Putting it all together into the trifle

Here are the ingredients and process

Step 1. Make a 10 inch genoise cake

70g unsalted butter

170g plain flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch

6 large eggs

Pinch of salt

210g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C

Line a 10-inch springform cake tin with baking paper

In a small saucepan melt the butter and set aside – just keep it warm.

Sift the flour and cornstarch into a bowl.

Pour water to a depth of an inch into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Combine the eggs, salt and sugar in the stainless steel mixing bowl of a stand mixer that will rest on the rim of the saucepan without touching the water. Whisk together and then place over the saucepan and which until the mixture is hot to the touch (120 degrees F or 50 degrees C) – approx. 5 minutes

Remove the bowl and put it in the stand mixer. Fit the whisk attachment and mix on medium to high speed until the batter is pale yellow and has tripled in volume and falls from the beater in a wide ribbon – 3 to 5 minutes.

Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour in 3 batches. The flour does fall to the bottom so make sure you get all the way to the bottom of the bowl.

Take out a small portion of the batter into a small bowl and whisk in the warm, melted butter. Gently fold the butter mixture back into the batter.

Pour the batter immediately into your lined cake tin.

Bake until the top springs back when touched. 40 to 45 minutes.

Let it cool in the tin for 30 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

Step 2. Make the Fruit puree

380g (2 cups) of berries (strawberries, raspberries etc)

100g sugar

sherry, marsala or coitreau to taste

Combine the sugar and fruit in a blender and mix until smooth. Add your choice of sherry, marsala or Cointreau – I use around a quarter cup of marsala. Transfer to a jug – you should have 2 or 3 cups worth

Step 3. Make the Sweetened Cream

400ml of whipping cream

45g sugar

Whip the cream until thickened. Add the sugar and whip until the cream holds soft peaks

Step 4: Make the Custard

Need 625ml

I use Birds custard powder. Mix just over 2 tablespoons of custard powder and 2 tablespoons of caster sugar with a little milk until it forms a slurry. Add Just over a pint of milk to make up to 625ml. Microwave a couple of times, mixing in-between until thickened. Beware it doesn’t boil over!

Step 5: Assembling the trifle

Need 570g of berries or sliced fruit (peaches, nectarines, mango)

Get either an 8 inch or 10 inch trifle bowl.

Split the cake horizontally into three layers to the size of your bowl.

Put a layer in the bottom of the bowl. Cover with a cup of the fruit puree and let it soak in. Cover with a layer of fruit and then a layer of custard and a layer of cream.

Cover with a second layer of cake. Cover this cake with fruit puree, fruit, custard and cream as before.

If your bowl is tall enough add a third layer.

If not (and mine wasn’t) you’ll have extra cake, fruit, puree, cream and custard left over. The chef always needs a little left for tasting purposes!

Enjoy.

Best served with friends.