Has anyone else been watching Great British Menu? This year the banquet is in honour of the W.I., a great British institution if ever there was one.
Last week the competing chefs were from Northern Island and two of them made variations on trifles for dessert. Which made me want trifle . . . so I made some!
I have called these Neapolitan Trifles because of the vanilla sponge, chocolate custard and raspberry jelly. Also, whilst I am perfectly happy with plain old vanilla custard, someone in this household will only eat chocolate custard, so . . . if I didn’t want to devour them all myself, chocolate custard it had to be. Of course, you can just add vanilla custard if you wish.
Trifle takes a little time to construct as you have to let each layer set before adding the next one, but it is a simple yet crowd pleasing pudding. The only thing I made made from scratch was the sponge, the rest came out of packets / tubs etc. So it is easy peasy.
And for me, a trifle is not a trifle if there isn’t sprinkles on the top. No chocolate. No toasted flaked almonds. Sprinkles. Every time.
PS – you can of course make this in one large bowl rather than individual ones.
Neapolitan Trifles
Ingredients:
For the sponge:
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 75g golden caster sugar
- 25g ground almonds
- seedless raspberry jam
For the layers:
- raspberry jelly, made up to a pint as per the instructions on the packet.
- chocolate custard, 3/4 pint, made as per the instructions on the tub with the addition of 1 heaped tsp cocoa powder.
- 150ml double cream
- sprinkles, to decorate
Method:
- Start with the sponge – pre-heat the oven to 180 Celsius / 160 Fan / 350 Fahrenheit. Line a shallow baking sheet (13.5 inches x 9.5 inches approx.) with non-stick baking paper.
- In a medium bowl whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together until the are pale and creamy. Fold in the ground almonds.
- Add the egg yolk mixture to the egg whites gradually, folding in well after each addition.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and spread it out as evenly as possible.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch.
- Leave to cool completely in the tin.
- Once the sponge has cooled, remove it from the tin and turn it upside down and remove the baking paper. Spread with the raspberry jam and roll the sponge up along the longer side to form a swiss roll.
- Cut the sponge roll into 1cm wide slices and layer the bottom of the dish(es) with it.
- In a jug make up a pint of jelly, following the instructions on the packet. Pour it carefully over the sponge (dividing it as equally as possible between the dishes if using individual ones). Leave it to cool to room temperature and then place the dish(es) in the fridge until the jelly has set (this usually takes at least an hour, possible 1.5 hours). Note – the sponge may float up a little.
- While the jelly is setting make the custard, according to the instructions on the tub, adding in 1 heaped tsp of cocoa powder in order to turn it into chocolate custard. Scatter a thin layer of sugar over the top and cover with a lid / plate in order to prevent a skin forming whilst it cools. Leave to cool to room temperature.
- Once the jelly has set and the custard has cooled, add the custard layer to the dish(es) and return to the fridge for a moment.
- In a small bowl whisk the cream until it forms soft peaks. Layer it on top of the custard.
- Keep the trifle(s) in the fridge until needed. Just before serving add the sprinkles. Don’t add them straight away or the colour will bleed into the cream.
© The Pink Rose Bakery 2014
The Pink Rose Bakery 
I’ve watched a few episodes of the Great British Menu, there’s really a lot of thought going in to this banquet isn’t there? I didn’t see the trifle episode, but I’m sure they would have benefited from sprinkles!
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I’m sure they would! Marcus Waring suggested the traditional topping of toasted almonds . . . not as satisfying in the colour department!
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