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LETHAL
SHERRY TRIFLE
This is a recipe from my
mother's side of the family. Adjust the amount of sherry to taste, but
not so much that the jelly won't set, or you'll end up with soup!
Ingredients:
-
Large glass bowl
minimum 4 pints (2½ litres) capacity
-
2 x packets Jelly
or jelly crystals (Jello in the USA)
-
1 x bottle sweet
full cream sherry
-
1 x pack boudoir
biscuits, sponge fingers or Swiss Roll (plain sponge with
jam)
-
2 x tins fruit
(fruit cocktail, strawberries in syrup, sliced peaches etc)
-
Birds Custard
Powder (2 tablespoons of powder or one packet of
pre-measured) or 1 tin of ready-made custard
-
1 x tablespoon
sugar (granulated or caster)
-
1 x pint (568 ml)
milk (semi-skimmed or full cream)
-
1 x LARGE tub
double cream (half pint or even more)
-
Glacé cherries,
morello cherries or grated chocolate to decorate (optional) or
Hundreds & Thousands for that '70s retro look
Step 1:
Layer the boudoir
biscuits or sponge fingers across the bottom of the bowl.
Click here if you are using a cut glass
bowl. If using Swiss Roll, cut into slices (½ - ¾ inch) and lay on
their sides across the bottom of the bowl, and just coming up the
sides a little (you can see them through the glass – pretty!)
Add sherry (about a quarter to a
third of a bottle)
by sprinkling over the sponge (if it helps, keep your
thumb over the neck of the bottle, so it dribbles out).
Alternatively, pour the sherry into a milk jug or similar, and drizzle
over the sponge. The idea is to get as much sherry into the sponge as
it will comfortably absorb. Drizzling it over the sponge works best,
and prevents it from disintegrating.
Open the
first tin of fruit
and drain the liquid, reserving it to use later. Add the fruit from
one tin on top of the sherry/sponge layer and place aside whilst you
make up the first packet of jelly. The strawberries will absorb some
of the sherry flavour.
Dissolve
the jelly in ¼ pint of
BOILING water, and stir until dissolved. Allow it to cool down then
add the reserved liquid from the tin of fruit to make up to
½
pint ONLY – this strong mix of jelly will be just enough to set all
the liquid, sponge and fruit in this first layer. Set aside and allow
to cool completely before putting into the fridge.
Click here to cool jelly
and custard quickly.
Step 2:
Open the second
tin of fruit and
drain the liquid, reserving it to use later. Arrange the fruit over
the first layer of jelly, sponge etc. Make up the other packet of
jelly (again, using only a ¼ pint
of boiling water) and allow to cool slightly. Add the liquid from the
tin of fruit (add water if necessary) to make up ¾
pint of liquid.
Allow to cool (see below)
and pour into your bowl. Leave to set (overnight if possible).
Step 3:
Make up the custard:
use 2 tablespoons custard powder or a pre-measured packet, and mix in
a bowl with one tablespoon sugar . Add a little milk from one pint
and mix well. Heat the rest of the milk in a saucepan. When the milk
is hot (but not boiling), pour from the saucepan into the bowl with
the custard/sugar mix, and stir in. Return the whole lot to the
saucepan, put back on the heat and keep stirring until it boils. Let
it boil for 30 seconds or so, stirring all the time, then remove from
the heat to cool.
TIP: How to cool custard without a skin
forming
Whether you pour the
custard straight on or prefer to let it cool in the pan or a jug, take
a piece of Clingfilm larger than you need and centre over the surface
of the custard. Press gently down on top of the custard, working from
the middle to the sides. This gets rid of any air bubbles, and
prevents a skin from forming. Do this immediately you take the
custard off the heat!
Allow to cool but not set, and pour
the custard over the jelly layers.
Apply more Clingfilm
over the top (to prevent a skin forming) then leave in the fridge
until needed.
The Big Finish:
Pour the double cream (at least
half a pint – more if you want) into a COLD glass or Pyrex bowl and
add ½
teaspoon of caster sugar. You don’t want to sweeten the cream, and
this is sufficient to help the cream to hold peaks.
Whizz with an
electric beater or balloon whisk until it has doubled in volume and
holds its peaks, then spread carefully over the trifle using a palette
knife or fork, making pretty swirls and patterns. Add a little at a
time, starting at the centre and working out towards the edges. This
doesn't put too much weight on any one area, and so won’t break the
surface of the set custard. Add a little grated chocolate, or
cherries cut in half, to decorate (if you think it needs it).
This trifle can be
made one or two days before it is needed, and the cream added on the
day you expect to eat it. Kept in the fridge, it will keep for at
least 3 – 4 days.
CUT GLASS BOWLS
If using a precious
heirloom cut glass bowl, make sure you never put hot ingredients
straight into it – or it will crack. Let jelly or custard cool down a
little before pouring into a bowl which has been rinsed in hand-hot
water first. Keep the bowl resting on top of a towel to help absorb
temperature changes and allow to cool completely before placing in the
fridge.
Back to Step 1.
COOLING JELLY OR CUSTARD
QUICKLY
If you are impatient
to get on with the next step, and the liquid isn’t cooling quickly
enough, stand the jelly (still in the mixing jug) in a pan half
full of cold water (and even ice cubes) to bring the temperature down
without diluting the liquid further. NEVER put hot liquids in the
fridge – especially in a cut glass bowl - as it will crack.
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