A luscious cranberry Christmas trifle. It's filled with homemade sponge, orange flavoured boozy cranberries, white chocolate custard and whipped cream. Make everything from scratch or cheat and buy in the requisite parts.
70gwhite chocolate(I used vanillary Green & Black's)
Cranberries
300gfresh cranberries(can use frozen)
1orangejuiced
4tbsporange liqueur(can swap for other fruit liqueur)
Whipped Cream
400mldouble cream (heavy cream)
20gicing sugar
½tspvanilla extract
Caramelised Almonds
40gflaked almonds
10gicing sugar
2tsporange liqueur(can swap for other fruit liqueur).
Instructions
Trifle Sponges
Preheat the oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4).
Beat the eggs and sugar together using electric beaters until the mixture is pale, thick and has tripled in volume.
3 medium eggs, 120 g golden caster sugar
Sift in the flour and then gently fold in to the egg mixture until fully incorporated.
100 g self-raising flour
Scrape into a lined 20 x 30cm Swiss roll tin and baked in the centre of the oven
for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned and springy to the touch.
Turn out on to a wire rack to cool.
Cut into 16 fingers.
White Chocolate Custard
In a medium sized bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until well incorporated. You can do this whilst the sponges are baking.
4 egg yolks, 45 g golden caster sugar
Whisk in the custard powder.
20 g custard powder
In a medium sized pan, bring the milk to the boil then whisk it into the egg mixture.
350 ml milk
Return the whole lot to the pan and simmer for about 5 minutes whilst whisking from time to time to make sure no lumps form.
Take off the heat and add the white chocolate.
70 g white chocolate
Stir until melted and smooth.
Leave to cool.
Cranberries
Whilst the custard is cooling, simmer the cranberries with the orange juice for 5 minutes until soft.
300 g fresh cranberries, 1 orange
Leave to cool.
Stir in the orange liqueur.
4 tbsp orange liqueur
Whipped Cream
Whilst the cranberries are cooling, whip the cream, icing sugar and vanilla together in a bowl until peaks form. It's worth using electric beaters for this.
400 ml double cream (heavy cream), 20 g icing sugar, ½ tsp vanilla extract
Fold a quarter of the mixture into the cold custard until just combined.
Caramelised Almonds
Mix the almonds icing sugar and liqueur in a bowl.
40 g flaked almonds, 10 g icing sugar, 2 tsp orange liqueur
Spread out onto a lined baking tray and bake at 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4) for about 6 minutes until caramelised but not burnt. You can do this towards the end of the sponge baking or just after you've removed it from the oven.
Leave to cool.
Assembly
Line a glass trifle bowl with the sponge fingers.
Pour in the cranberries.
Spoon the custard over the cranberries.
Spoon the cream over the custard.
Scatter the almonds over the top together with some dried cranberries and 30g grated white chocolate, if liked.
Notes
f you make your own custard, you'll have leftover egg whites. They will keep in the fridge for a couple of days. Just make sure they're in a covered container. You can also freeze them for up to three months.Here are a few recipes you might like for using egg whites.
Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.