Black Forest trifle
A feast of a festive pudding from the BBC’S favourite cooking double act
Black Forest trifle
Chocolate custard, cake and booze – what’s not to like? This is a real showstopper of a trifle and should be greeted with hearty cheers when you bring it to the table.
SERVES 8 PREP 25 mins plus chilling COOK 30 mins V
For the chocolate custard
100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces 300ml whole milk
300ml double cream
1 vanilla pod, split
6 medium egg yolks
100g caster sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp cornflour
For the trifle
500g chocolate cake or brownies 50g black cherry or morello cherry jam 100g kirsch or cherry brandy 300g pitted black cherries
200g amaretti biscuits
500ml double cream chocolate curls, to decorate
1 First, make the custard as this will need to chill before you assemble the trifle. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. The base of the bowl shouldn’t touch the water. Melt the chocolate, then remove the bowl from the pan and leave it to cool. 2 Put the milk and cream in a pan with the vanilla pod and bring to just below boiling. Remove from the heat and leave the milk to infuse and cool slightly.
3 Put the egg yolks, sugar, cocoa powder and cornflour into a bowl. Whisk, preferably with electric beaters, until the mixture is very well aerated, pale and stiff enough that it keeps its shape when you trail the beaters through it.
4 Remove the vanilla pod from the milk and cream mixture, then pour it over the egg mixture, stirring as you go. Fold in the melted chocolate. 5 Mix thoroughly, then rinse out the saucepan and pour the custard back in. Cook, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens – this can take anything from 10 to 20 mins. Don’t have the heat too low or the custard will not thicken, but make sure you don’t let it boil.
Keep stirring. 6 When the custard has thickened to the consistency of thick double cream, transfer it to a jug and cover with cling film to stop a skin forming. When cool, transfer to the fridge – it will continue to thicken as it chills.
7 To assemble the trifle, cut the cake into fairly thin slices and spread them with the jam. Sandwich the slices together and arrange them in the bottom of a large trifle bowl. Pour over the kirsch, then sprinkle over the cherries.
8 Put a layer of the amaretti biscuits over the cherries, then pour over the custard in a thick, even layer. If you have time, put the bowl in the fridge until almost ready to serve, again covered in cling film. Whisk the double cream in a bowl until it forms soft peaks, then smooth this over the custard. Decorate with chocolate curls.
PER SERVING 1,155 kcals • fat 81g • saturates 44g • carbs 84g • sugars 66g • fibre 4g • protein 13g • salt 0.7g