Esther’s retro trifle

‘Take this classic dessert to the next level for the festive season by making the jelly with raspberries and enriching the custard with clotted cream – it’s a delicious, fun pudding that will put a smile on everyone’s faces.’

SERVES 14 PREP 30 mins plus cooling and at least 5 hrs chilling COOK 10 mins MORE EFFORT

150g frozen raspberries

4 tbsp raspberry jam

600ml double cream

3 tbsp icing sugar

300g madeira cake, cut into 3cm pieces

120g custard cream biscuits sprinkles and maraschino cherries, to decorate (optional)

For the jelly

6 gelatine leaves

150g golden caster sugar

1 lemon, zest pared and juiced

500g frozen raspberries

For the custard

800ml whole milk

1 vanilla pod, split

100g golden caster sugar

6 tbsp cornflour

5 large egg yolks

150g clotted cream

1 To make the jelly, put the gelatine in a small bowl and cover with water. Leave to soak. Meanwhile, tip the sugar, lemon zest and juice and 400ml water into a pan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Add the raspberries and bring to the boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 mins, or until the raspberries have broken down. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a jug. Squeeze any excess water out of the gelatine and stir through the raspberry mixture. Pour into the base of a large trifle bowl and chill for at least 5 hrs, or overnight.

2 To make the custard, heat the milk in a pan with the vanilla pod until steaming, then remove from the heat and set aside. Whisk the sugar, cornflour and egg yolks together in a bowl. Remove the vanilla and gradually pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly until well combined. Return to the pan and gently stir over a low heat until the custard has thickened. Stir in the clotted cream, pour into a bowl and cover the surface with a piece of baking parchment to prevent a skin forming. Leave to cool, then put in the fridge to chill until cold.

3 Put the frozen raspberries and jam in a small pan and cook for 5 mins until the raspberries have softened a little but are still holding their shape. Leave to cool. Whisk the cream with the icing sugar in a large bowl until it reaches a soft dropping consistency.

4 Arrange the cake pieces over the set jelly. Crush most of the biscuits, reserving some whole, and scatter over the cake layer. Whisk the custard to loosen, then pour over the biscuit layer. Top with the raspberry compote, pushing the whole biscuits into it around the edges of the bowl. Spoon over the whipped cream, then decorate with the sprinkles and cherries, if you like. Will keep in the fridge for up to three days.

PER SERVING 595 kcals • fat 39g • saturates 23g • carbs 53g • sugars 39g • fibre 2g • protein 7g • salt 0.4g