Black Forest Trifle

Nigella had said “whatever the problem, trifle is always the answer”. I agree with this to some extent. It depends on the people you are feeding, and what else you are serving it with. This black forest trifle is made up of custard, fruit, jam, chocolate sponge and cream. Yes I know, you may feel weighed down just thinking of ALL these components being eaten together. But it’s surprising light and enjoyable to eat... even on a hot summer’s day after a full meal. Trust me.

The sponge soaks up the jam, the syrup and some of the custard, giving the whole thing a wonderful mousse like texture. Then you’ve got the cream, whipped till soft peaks... light and floaty... like a “kiss on the tongue” (again, quoted from Nigella). This is really something that needs to be tasted to be believed.

So whether you’ve got 4 people, or 20, or even just 1, I think you need no further excuses to make this. And the fact that the whole thing is so ludicrously easy...well... just go do it! Be prepared to enjoy the rewards!!!

Helpful note: I bake a lot. So when I have substantial trims left over from levelling other cakes, I freeze it for such an occasion as this. This may sound a little too thrifty, but trust me, it works. The sponges really need to be stale for this to be perfect, as it will absorb more of the syrup, jam and custard. If you use a fresh sponge, you might find that the components don’t meld as nicely. If you don’t have stale trims, then try to buy a sponge that is towards the end of its useful life; or a fresh one, which you then leave to become stale.

Another note: You can see from the photo that I don't have those clear layers... that's because I wasn't patient enough to wait until the custard was at the right thickness. So yeah. Be patient.

INGREDIENTS:

500g stale chocolate sponge/pound cake

1 jar St Dalfour Black cherry jam

1 jar (400g approx) Morello cherries, with syrup reserved

Custard:

100g best quality dark chocolate

300ml milk (full fat)

300ml cream

8 egg yolks

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa (best quality dutch processed, sifted)

Topping:

600ml thickened cream

20g dark chocolate

METHOD:

Serves about 20 people (adjust measurements accordingly to feed less/more people as desired)

Before you start: you need a trifle bowl, or any large clear glass bowl. There is no need to be too precise with the amount of sponge cake you need, as it is more about the layers you can create with the sponge and bowl available, rather than weight and measurements.

Custard:

Melt the dark chocolate and leave aside to cool.

Heat cream and milk in a large saucepan until just below boiling point. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, sugar and cocoa together until combined in a large bowl; don’t worry too much about lumps at this stage.

Pour hot cream and milk into the egg yolk mixture whisking as you go. Stir in the melted chocolate. Pour the entire thing back into the saucepan.

Cook over low/medium heat until thickened. Stirring all the time using a wooden spoon or silicon spatula. Do not take your eyes off it. It is adequately thickened, if you can draw a line on the back of the wooden spoon/spatula and the sides of the line does not bleed into one another.

Pour into a large bowl, cover the top of the custard directly with cling to avoid a skin forming. Leave aside to cool. You can also leave the custard in the fridge to speed up the process, but don’t forget about it, or else it will set to the thickness of crème brulee, which cannot be poured onto the sponge layer later.

Prepare the sponge:

Cut the sponge into slices, spread with jam and sandwich together. Squeeze sponges into the base of the bowl until the desired layers have been reached.

Pour over the reserved syrup from the Morello cherries; make sure all the sponges are sodden with syrup. If you prefer an alcoholic version, you can use cherry brandy, kirsch or other cherry liqueur.

Scatter the cherries over the sponges, making sure, some are pushed to the sides so they peak out above the sponges.

Once the custard is cool and thickened adequately, but still pourable, pour over the cherries and sponges and leave the whole thing, covered with cling, in the fridge to set. Preferably overnight.

Once ready to serve, whip the cream to soft peaks, and spread over the custard. Shave the chocolate over the cream.

Serve greedily into bowls using a large spoon and ready to be wowed...

Recipe source: Adapted from Nigella Feast by Nigella Lawson