I'm about to make a trifle.
A favourite of Lord Braybrooke.
The secret to a good trifle
is to make it look fabulous
and not to skimp on the alcohol.
For this recipe, you will need:
Leftover sponge cake.
Sponge biscuits.
Brandy.
Jam.
Sherry.
Crystalized ginger.
Custard.
Almonds.
Whipping cream.
Caster sugar.
And for the decoration,
almonds,
angelica,
and edible flowers.
Cut your sponge into slices.
This is an excellent recipe
for using up left over sponge cake.
This is a fatless sponge.
And it's crust has an extra crunch
because when I made it
I lined the tin with butter
and then sprinkled it with fine sugar.
It makes it an excellent cake for using in trifle.
Line a glass bowl
with the sponge cake
and than pour on the brandy.
Now spread on some jam.
Any flavour will do
this is the housekeeper
Mrs Warwick's finest strawberry jam.
She made it last year
it is very good.
Once you've chopped your crystallised ginger,
or fruit, layer it on evenly
and then add biscuits.
These are sponge biscuits,
but you could use macaroons
or ratafia biscuits.
make a nice layer of these
and then pour on the sherry.
Leave it to soak for ten to fifteen minutes.
Next if you haven't already,
make some custard.
Add two sheets of gelatine,
or two tablespoons of corn flour
to make it set properly.
I'm then going to add some almonds
to make it even thicker
Then layer it on to your trifle.
There are many, many different recipes for trifle.
Some that are easy that contain packet custard
and tinned fruit
the not very good ones.
And others, like this,
for the carefully put together.
Next start whipping your cream.
Once you've whisked the cream
add in a little sugar then you can pipe it.
Building it up layer by layer
until you've got quite a lot of height.
And there you are.
Now it's ready for decoration.
for the decorationsI have used a variety of
candied fruit and candied edible flowers.
Be very careful when choosing flowers
to decorate dishes such as this
you must make sure they're edible.
So here we have some wild violets,
and we have some cowslips.
I've also put on some
angelica and some candied ginger.
The candied flowers are
primulas,
primroses,
and here the very last
candied pansy.
And there we are.
Trifle as eaten at Audley End House.