Trifle

Sherry is, almost without exception, a foul and noxious substance good only for cleaning drains, so why people insist on ruining  a perfectly good trifle with it is beyond me. I’m aware of the pleasures of a glass of ice-cold fino with a plate of tapas, when on holiday, but other than that the world is better off without it.

This loathing of mine probably stems from a  badly made trifle when I was younger (I’ve often suspected that if I was ever conned onto the psychiatrist’s couch, any deep-rooted childhood traumas discovered would be food related), so a few years ago I came up with an alternative. It’s much tastier, and contains no traces of sherry at all.

I made this trifle more-or-less to comission, to persuade a younger sister (not mine, I’m lacking in the sister department) of my acquaintance that puddings without chocolate are indeed worthy of the title. Fruit-wise, you’re after soft fruits in season – strawberries and raspberries are traditional, but also try halved and stoned cherries, diced peaches, blueberries and blackberries.

(Last time I briefly experimented with not listing the ingredients, and instead just highlighting them. This was ill-received, so ho for the traditional list!)

You’ll need:

Strawberries/Raspberries/Other soft fruit (see above)

One of those cheap raspberry swiss rolls.

Disaronno Amaretto – or some other kind of Amaretto, if there is one.

Custard – fresh or packet. Fresh won’t set that well, but will taste better.

Double cream, a medium pot.

Amaretto biscuits, a handful, crushed.

Balsamic vinegar (optional)

N.B - that is *not* enough cream. Trust me on this.

Method:

Hull and quarter the strawberries, then set aside with the raspberries. If you want to be a little adventurous, then splash them with a teaspoon or two of balsamic vinegar, a teaspoon of Amaretto, and three teaspoons of sugar, and leave to macerate for an hour or two before you make the trifle. This is a pretty good way of dealing with strawberries in any situation, they respond well to the depth and sweetness of good balsamic. If not, well, as you were.

The three stages of strawberry preparation.

Cut the swiss roll into slices about 1cm thick and line the trifle dish with them. Soak liberally with amaretto.

About the only suitable use for long-life swiss roll.

Insert fruit, then pour over the custard. At this stage, stick the whole thing in the fridge for an hour, which will let the instant custard set, or the fresh custard… get cold.

Whip the cream with a hand whisk or electric beater until it forms stiff peaks, then layer over the custard. Decorate the top with a few raspberries and the crushed Amaretti biscuits (crush them by sticking them in a sandwich bag and going nuts with a rolling pin). Devour.

There are no pictures of the final product, because it got eaten before I could take any. I’m choosing to see this as a good thing. That’s your lot for today, folks.

P.S. Photos! I’d like your feedback, pls. Do they work? Are they too small? Too big? Too blurry (can’t do much about this one, I’m taking them on my phone until my freeloading brother gets back from India with my camera *shakes fist*)?. Comments appreciated.

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