Raspberry and verjuice custard trifle with macadamias

SERVES 12 PREP AND COOK TIME 1 HOUR 10 MINUTES (+ REFRIGERATION TIME) 800g defrosted frozen raspberries 2 tablespoons caster sugar

½ cup (125ml) water

10 (20g) gold-strength gelatine leaves (see Maggie’s tips) 1½ cups (375ml) thickened cream 20cm (300g) sponge cake

½ cup (125ml) sherry

375g fresh raspberries

½ cup (70g) roasted unsalted macadamias

VERJUICE CUSTARD

8 free-range egg yolks

⅔ cup (150g) caster sugar 2 teaspoons cornflour

1⅓ cups (330ml) thickened cream 1 rosemary sprig, optional

1¼ cups (310ml) verjuice

SABAYON

100ml verjuice

⅓ cup (75g) caster sugar 6 free-range egg yolks, at room temperature

1 To make the jelly, place the raspberries in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until they are soft and broken down. Blend or process raspberries until smooth; push through a fine sieve over a bowl and discard seeds. Return the raspberry juice to the pan; add the sugar and the water. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cool slightly.

2 Place gelatine in a bowl with enough cold water to cover; allow to soften for a couple of minutes. Squeeze excess water from the gelatine; drop them into the warm syrup. Stir until gelatine dissolves. Pour mixture into a shallow dish; cover and place in the fridge to set for 4 hours. Cut jelly into 1cm cubes and keep chilled.

3 VERJUICE CUSTARD Meanwhile, place egg yolks into a large bowl with combined sugar and cornflour; whisk to combine. Heat the cream to simmering point in a medium saucepan with rosemary sprig; remove sprig. Gradually pour the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture while whisking until smooth. Pour mixture back into the pan. Stir constantly over a low heat until mixture is thickened and coats the back of the wooden spoon. Cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or until cold. Simmer verjuice in a small saucepan until reduced to ⅓ cup (80ml); cool.

Stir verjuice into cold custard; cover. Refrigerate until ready to assemble trifle.

4 SABAYON Heat the verjuice and sugar together over a low heat until the sugar dissolves; remove from the heat. Place the egg yolks in a large heatproof bowl; gradually whisk in the verjuice mixture until light and frothy. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don’t allow the water to boil) and continue to whisk for about 6 minutes, until the egg mixture is pale and thick. To check if the consistency is right, lift the whisk out of the bowl – you should be able to make a trail of the figure of 8 with the mixture. Refrigerate for about 2 hours, until cold.

5 To assemble the trifle, whip the cream to firm peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the Sabayon. Cut the sponge into large cubes. Place half the sponge on the base of a large 4-litre (16-cup) trifle dish. Spoon half the sherry over the sponge. Pour the Verjuice Custard over the sponge, then top with jelly. Spoon over half of the Sabayon, then top with another layer of sponge and drizzle with remaining sherry. Top with half the extra raspberries, then pour over the remaining Sabayon. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Decorate with remaining berries and nuts. Not suitable to freeze or microwave.