Guy Pascals English Trifle Recipes

MY BIG FAT GYPSY TRIFLE

Steps:

• Place a large trifle dish or large glass bowl onto a tray to make it easier to carry.
• Slice the pound cakes into 1/4-inch slices. Line the bottom of the dish with a few of the slices, tightly and in a single layer. Pat them down evenly with your fingers. Brush the cake with some of the liqueur, if using. Then take a few strawberries that are roughly the same size and turn one half upside down and place them on the outer edge of the cake so they are pressing up to the glass. Repeat all the way around the dish. Sprinkle some of the cookie crumbs on top of the cake to a third of the way up the strawberries.
• Put the vanilla, sugar and cream into the bowl of a mixer and whip until stiff peaks form. Spread one third of the cream on top of the cookie crumbs and smooth it down with a spoon or spatula. The cookie crumbs will stick to the spoon while spreading so I use a small knife to scrape them off. The cream should come up to just above the level of the strawberries. Stand back from your evolving masterpiece and make sure the cream is level. If it is not, use a piece of paper towel to wipe around the edge of the bowl, then sprinkle on a layer of the white chocolate.
• Repeat each layer until the bowl is full, finishing with a layer of strawberries.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve.

ENGLISH TRIFLE

Steps:

• Cut pound cake in half lengthwise and trim halves to cover bottom of glass trifle dish, or a 9 inch straightsided glass bowl. Sprinkle cake with Sherry to soak, and spread cake with jam, heating jam if necessary to facilitate spreading. Place berries, kiwi and peaches on top of cake.
• Heat the milk in top of double boiler over mediumlow heat until film forms on it. Beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla in a double boiler until it forms a ribbon. Then slowly pour the hot milk into the eggs, beating all the time. Place the mixture in a heavy saucepan and stir over low heat until the custard coats the back of a spoon, 10 to 15 minutes. Don't let it boil. Strain it through a fine sieve. Cool the custard in a bowl set in ice water, stirring occasionally. Pour cooled custard over the fruit. Refrigerate, covered, at least 4 hours.
• Whip cream to soft peaks. Beat in powdered sugar and continue beating until stiff. Spread whipped cream over the trifle and garnish with strawberries.

INDIVIDUAL QUICK ENGLISH TRIFLE

Steps:

• Make the gelatin by following the instructions on the side of the packet. Pour into a dish and leave. Once the gelatin is set, roughly chop.
• Put 2 pieces of cake into the bottom of each glass. Drizzle with the sherry and pour half of the custard over the cake and sherry. Spoon the gelatin over the custard, and then add the mandarins. Cover with the rest of the custard, drizzle with a little vanilla, and cover with the whipped cream. Scrape the chocolate with a sharp knife for shavings to top the lot.

ENGLISH TRIFLE

Steps:

• In a large bowl toss together the cake scraps, simple syrup, and liquor to moisten the cake.
• In a trifle bowl or individual glass stemware, layer the ingredients in the following order: cake, Vanilla Pastry Cream, Brown Sugar Whipped Cream, nuts and strawberries, repeating until the container is full, ending with whipped cream as the top layer. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. (Can be made a day in advance up to this point and is actually better if allowed to sit over night.) Decorate with more fruit and finely chopped nuts, or rosettes of whipped cream and strawberries.
• Bring the milk and vanilla bean to a boil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat and set aside to infuse for 10 to 15 minutes. Whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain. Whisk 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture into the yolks until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture. Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool slightly. Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill at least two hours. (The pastry cream can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate until 1 hour before using.)
• Whip the cream and brown sugar until stiff.

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.)