Raspberry syllabub trifle

I love trifle!

I might even go as far as to say that it is possibly my  favourite dessert, which is quite a bold statement given that I love most desserts – probably a little too much.  What makes the perfect trifle?  That’s a hard question to answer. Is a trifle a trifle if it doesn’t have jelly? Well yes of course it is, but I know there are people out there who wouldn’t agree.

When I was a little girl, trifle consisted of a layer of sponge (usually from a Swiss roll) topped with tinned fruit and set in jelly (made up with juice from the can of fruit). This was topped with a layer of set blancmange – can’t remember the last time I had blancmange but that’s beside the point. Then the blancmange was topped with whipped cream sprinkled with coloured sugar sprinkles.

Later the blancmange was replaced with a soft set custard – and I liked these trifles even more, if that was at all possible. Then after I had left home I started having trifles laced with sherry, liking them even more still and, imagine the shock – I had a trifle made without jelly! It wasn’t trifle as I knew it, but I still loved it. In fact, I couldn’t decide if I liked it more or not. Truth be told I think with or with out jelly, trifle is just fab!

So here is my current favourite trifle recipe. I’ve taken it one step further and topped it with syllabub – I used Marsala wine but you could use any sweet dessert wine or sherry. It’s definitely one for adults only.

To decorate the trifle I used some extra raspberries and sprinkled the top with some slithered pistachio nuts. Chopped pistachios, toasted flaked almonds or silver dragees (sugar balls) would also look pretty.

I hope you like it as much as I do and do let me know which camp you fall into:  jelly,  no jelly, or give me any trifle, now!

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Raspberry syllabub trifle

Prep Time

45 mins

Total Time

45 mins

 

Raspberry syllabub trifle An alcoholic raspberry trifle topped with a a boozy syllabub, this trifle make a fantastic indulgent dessert.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: English

Servings: 8

Author: Jacqui Bellefontaine

Ingredients

• for the custard
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 2 tbsp golden caster sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 egg
• 500 ml milk
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• for the trifle
• 4 trifle spongers broken into chunks
• 3 tbsp marsala wine or sweet sherry
• 300 g fresh or frozen raspberries
• 75 g amaretti biscuits
• for the syllabub
• 600 ml double cream
• 4 tbsp caster sugar
• 150 ml marsala wine or sherry
• grated zest and juice 1 lemon
• to complete
• extra raspberries
• chopped or flaked pistachios almonds or silver dragees

Method

1. To make the custard, place the cornflour, caster sugar and egg yolks in a bowl and whisk until smooth, then whisk in the whole egg.
2. Heat the milk until almost boiling then pour onto the egg mixture while whisking well.
3. Place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering hot water and keep whisking until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla paste. Cover with a sheet of dampened parchment, and allow to cool.
4. To make the trifle, spread the sponge pieces in the bottom of a serving bowl and sprinkle with the marsala wine or sherry. Pile the raspberries on top.
5. Break the amaretti biscuits into pieces and scatter over the raspberries. When the custard is cool spoon over the raspberries and level the top. Chill.
6. To make the syllabub, place the cream, sugar, marsala wine or sherry, lemon juice and zest in a mixing bowl and whisk until it is just holding its shape. Carefully spoon over the custard and swirl.
7. Just before serving arrange a few extra raspberries on top and sprinkle with nuts or dragees

Recipe Notes

Not suitable for freezing.