Treat your family and friends to this superb traditional boozy trifle full of sherry, raspberries and cream. Forget about counting calories until the New Year!
Ingredients:
Base
8 trifle sponges
4 tablespoons raspberry jam
6 tablespoons sweet sherry
12 oz. (350g) frozen raspberries, partially thawed
2 oz. (50g) ratafia biscuits
Custard
1 pint (550ml) milk
1 vanilla pod
4 egg yolks
1 tbsp. caster sugar, plus a little for sprinkling
one and a half tablespoons of cornflour
Topping
three quarter pint (425ml) whipping cream
2 oz. (50g) flaked almonds, toasted
glace cherries to decorate
Cooking Instructions:
Split the sponges in half then spread each half thinly with raspberry jam
Sandwich each half back together and cut into quarters
Place in the base of three and a half pint (2 litre) glass trifle bowl
Sprinkle the sherry over the sponges and spoon over the partially thawed raspberries and their juice
Roughly crush the ratafia biscuits and sprinkle over the raspberries
Chill for 3-4 hours
Place the milk and vanilla pod in a small pan and slowly bring to just below boiling point
Transfer to a heatproof jug and leave to infuse for 10 minutes
Remove the vanilla pod from the milk
Place the egg yolks, cornflour and sugar in a bowl and whisk together
Whisk in the milk, then strain the liquid back into the rinsed pan through a fine sieve
Cook over a gentle heat , stirring constantly until the custard starts to thicken, being careful not to allow to boil
Cook gently for two minutes unit the custard is a thick pouring consistency
Quickly pour the custard into a cold bowl to prevent further cooking
Sprinkle the surface with a thin coating of caster sugar to prevent a skin forming
Set aside and leave to cool
Spoon the cold custard onto the raspberries in the trifle bowl, spreading to the edges with a palette knife
Gently whip the cream until it nearly holds its shape, then spoon three quarters of it on top of the custard and carefully spread to the sides of the bowl
Whip the remaining cream until it holds it shape
Pipe swirls of cream around the top of the bowl and decorate with flaked almonds and cherries