Christmas Trifle

Lay out the sponges or swiss roll on the bottom of a large bowl. Scatter the berries over your sponge base and drizzle with the small glass of Grand Marnier (or substitute with Madeira wine).

Tear up the full packet of raspberry jelly squares, put them in a jug and add 275ml boiling water. Stir until dissolved and then add 250ml cold water. Pour half over the sponge and berries, place in the fridge for 30 minutes to slightly set whilst covering the remaining jelly with cling film. Then pour over the rest of the jelly when ready.

Pour a little of the milk into a bowl with 2tbsp Billington's golden caster sugar and the blancmange powder and mix until dissolved. Bring the rest of your milk to the boil then add to the blancmange mix. Whisk well and return to the heat, continuously whisking as you bring it back to the boil.

 

 

Pour the blancmange into a bowl and allow to cool, whisking occasionally, then pour half over the set raspberry jelly layer. Allow the blancmange layer to set in the fridge completely. Scatter the mandarin segments on top of the pink blancmange layer. Make the orange jelly the same way as the raspberry jelly and allow to cool slightly before pouring half over the mandarins. Put back in the fridge for 30 minutes whilst covering the jelly as before. Pour over the rest of the jelly when ready.

To make your custard, pour the milk and cream into a thick-bottomed, wide base pan and heat gently on a medium heat until almost boiling. Careful not to let it actually boil though. Beat the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla bean paste and corn flour together in a large bowl until smooth. Then pour the hot milk through a sieve into the egg mixture, stirring continuously with a whisk.

Pour the custard back into a clean new pan and whisk continuously. Heat until the custard thickens and thickly coats the back of a wooden spoon without dripping off. Once you are happy with the thickness, pour into a clean bowl or large jug to cool, pressing some clingfilm or damp grease proof paper right on the surface to prevent a skin forming. Leave to cool.

Spoon the custard over the mandarin layer and smooth to make level. Chill whilst you make our meringue topping.

Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until holding stiff peaks. Take care not to over beat; as soon as the whites are holding their shape (look for stiff peaks) it's time to begin adding the sugar. Add the sugar in increments of 4, thoroughly whisking each time. Continue adding all the sugar until you have a stiff glossy meringue mixture. Add the vanilla extract at the end of the last mix.

Place dollops of fluffy meringue in a pattern all across the top of the custard layer using a spoon or palette knife to create nice snowy peaks. Using a blow torch (or under a hot grill) just toast the top of the meringue to make slightly golden and charred. Serve with lashings of whipped cream using a little vanilla extract when whipping to add extra flavour.