As per usual, we in the He Runs, I Cook household are riding the crest of a food trend.   I’d like to think that we’re unique, individual, and ahead of the curve- but who am I kidding?  We’re not really, we’re firmly swept up in the hot trend this Christmas.  And the hot trend is Trifle.  Apparently they’re back…

And if you don’t believe me, here’s an article from Delicious Magazine all about the trifle revival.

And believe it or not, ours is not the only household caught up in the Jelly vs. No-Jelly debate. 

By the way, The Runner wanted everyone to know that he did not think he was so harsh in his critique of the non-Jelly trifle.   My memory of it differs slightly to his memory of it but I’m the one writing, so we’ll go with my version of events.

Anyway, apparently their December Cover depicted a non-Jelly trifle and they copped a fair bit of reader criticism for the lack of jelly in their trifle.  (I feel their pain!)

However, we are both on the path to redemption.  Delicious published their best trifle recipes which seem to most feature jelly and I have made a new trifle- which I’ve nicknamed Redemption Trifle.  It hasn’t been sampled yet, but it got two thumbs up from The Runner when he saw it setting in the fridge.

So how did I make it?  (It hasn’t been tested yet so probably needs a few tweaks- and next time I would make my own custard and use fresh fruit…)  In the meantime, here’s my recipe for Redemption Trifle.

 

• 2 packages of jelly (1 raspberry and 1 port wine- I’ll explain later)
• Water
• Strawberry Liqueur
• Sherry
• Port
• Blueberries
• Sponge Fingers
• Diced Strawberries
• Fruit Salad (tinned- shameful I know, but it’s only a practice run)
• Store bought Custard (Shock! Horror!)
• Brandy
• Whipping Cream
• Vanilla
• Strawberry Liqueur

Make the Raspberry jelly according to the package directions using 300ml of boiling water, add approximately 60ml Strawberry liqueur, 40 ml sherry and another 150ml of cold water.  Stir through blueberries and let cool.

Break up sponge fingers and arrange at the bottom of a deep bowl or trifle dish.  Pour jelly mixture over the sponge fingers.  Put in the fridge to set.

This is the point when I realised that I *may* not have enough liquid/jelly to satisfy the need for jelly in the trifle so I made the second package of port wine jelly- but I used port instead of sherry and strawberry liqueur.  I also used about half the water.

Let the jelly (or jellies) set in the fridge for about 1-2 hours. 

Take out of the fridge and layer strawberries and fruit salad over the set jelly and sponge fingers. 

Mix the custard with a tablespoon or two of brandy and pour over the fruit. 

Whip  the cream with a teaspoon of vanilla and sugar and a splash of strawberry liqueur.  Spread over the custard layer.

Decorate with fresh strawberries on top and put back in the fridge to let all the layers set.

Enjoy!