Port Trifle Food

PORT TRIFLE

Steps:

• For cake, preheat oven to 300°F and grease an 11 x 17-inch jelly roll pan and sprinkle bottom & sides with sugar, shaking out excess.
• Beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Add lemon zest and extracts. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. In a separate bowl, sift flour with salt and baking powder. Stir in flour alternately with buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Scrape batter into prepared pan, spread to level and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
• Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until a tester inserted in the canter of the cake comes out clean. Let cake cool for 15 minutes in pan, then turn out onto cooling rack to cool completely.
• For custard, whip cream to medium peak and fold in vanilla. Chill. Whisk egg yolks, sugar, sherry and lemon juice over a pot of gently simmering water until doubled in volume and holds a ribbon when whisk is lifted. Remove from heat and whisk in mascarpone until smooth. Fold in whipped cream and chill until ready to serve.
• For port glaze, simmer port with sugar, cinnamon stick and peppercorns until shiny and reduced by half, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Toss prepared fruits together with 4 Tbsp of glaze and let macerate for up to 30 minutes before serving.
• Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut pound cake into 12 to 16 circles. Either on a plate or in a suitable glass, place 1 disc of cake. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp of berry mixture and dollop custard on top. Drizzle port glaze over cream and fruit. Repeat this process once more. Garnish with a sprig of mint or berries.

TRADITIONAL ENGLISH SHERRY TRIFLE - STRICTLY FOR THE GROWN UPS!

Steps:

• 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, silver dragees or raspberries.

CLASSIC TRIFLE WITH BERRIES OR CITRUS

Steps:

• Make the custard: In a large bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add egg yolks and whisk until smooth.
• In a medium saucepan, heat cream, milk and any of the optional flavorings over medium heat until simmering.
• Slowly whisk 1/2 cup hot cream mixture into yolk mixture until well mixed. Whisking egg mixture constantly, slowly pour in remaining cream. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and place it over medium-low heat.
• Cook custard, stirring continuously especially around the bottom and edges of the pot, until the custard has thickened enough to mound on the spoon, 5 to 10 minutes. Don't let it come to a boil, but a few simmering bubbles is fine. If it starts to curdle at any point, remove pot from the heat and whisk it intensely. It should smooth out.
• Once the custard is thick, scrape it into bowl, whisk in vanilla, and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto its surface. Let the custard cool for at least 30 minutes. At this point, custard can be chilled for up to 3 days, or used to assemble the trifle. Pluck out cinnamon stick or cardamom pods, if using, just before assembling trifle.
• Prepare the fruit: If using berries, put them in a bowl, sprinkle with sugar to taste, and use a fork to mash them. If using oranges, supreme them: Cut the tops and bottoms off each one, squeezing the juice from the severed pieces into a bowl. Using a paring knife, cut the peel and all the white pith off the fruit. Working over the bowl to catch the juices, slice the segments away from the membrane, letting fruit fall into the bowl. It's OK if the segments fall apart; you're going to break them up anyway. When all the segments are cut out of the membranes, squeeze the membranes over the bowl to release as much of the juice as possible. Sprinkle oranges with sugar, to taste, and, using your hands, break the segments up into pieces. You want a pulpy, juicy mix in the bowl. There should be a lot of liquid. Let oranges or the berries macerate for 20 minutes.
• To assemble the trifle, spread the ladyfingers on one side with a thick layer of jam or marmalade. Put the ladyfingers, jam-side down, in the bottom of a medium (6- to 8-cup) trifle dish or any other serving bowl or dish (or use individual dishes, cups or glasses). You want to cover the bottom completely and, if you are using a bowl, go a little bit up the sides; break up the ladyfingers if needed to make them fit.
• Sprinkle sherry (or whatever liquid you are using) over the ladyfingers, making sure they are well moistened. Be generous: You don't want any dry bits.
• Spoon fruit and all their juices over ladyfingers. Top with custard. If you like a higher cake-to-custard ratio, you can break up a few more ladyfingers and scatter them on top of the custard, then drizzle with more sherry. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
• When ready to serve, using an electric mixer or a whisk, beat the cream and confectioners' sugar until fluffy; it should hold a light peak. Spoon whipped cream on top of trifle and garnish as you like. Serve immediately. (Leftovers will keep covered in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days.)