It’s the battle of the bowls: the original grandmaster versus the young upstart; the time-honoured versus the new-fangled. We’re pitting the classic trifle against a new version for 2022. Question is, are you a traditionalist or a modernist?
The traditionalist “Don’t mess with it!”
It doesn’t matter what other people think – you love trifle and know the classic combination of flavours can’t be improved upon, so why pander to the haters? We hear you.
No messing about – our Trifle 1.0 is what most of us picture when the dessert is mentioned. It was the first, it is the best. End of. Fluorescent raspberry jelly, thick vanilla custard, sherry-soaked sponge fingers and pillowy mounds of whipped cream. And of course, no old-school trifle is complete without a scattering of hundreds and thousands. This is the OG of trifles, fit for Victorian royalty and bringing a tear to your grandmother’s eye.
The modernist “You can’t stop progress!”
Why would anyone want to eat a bland bowl of soggy sponge? Don’t write off trifle because of past tinned-fruit trauma – there’s a funky new layered pud in town. Our Trifle 2.0 changes up the trad combo. Jamaican ginger cake is firm enough to withstand a shower of booze and still have some pep; citrus jelly provides tang; pannacotta’s chocolate-smooth Italian accent is way more sexy than custard and the whipped cream is given an Eton education with a mess of crispy-chewy meringue. Pretty burnt orange segments add a cheffy touch (and yes, there are sprinkles – for old time’s sake). Oh, it’s veggie-friendly, too.
Trifle 1.0
Serves 6-8 Hands-on time 30 min, plus at least 2 hours chilling Specialist kit 1.5 litre heatproof glass bowl or trifle dish
MAKE AHEAD The jelly layer for both trifles needs time to firm up but can be made up to 2 days in advance. Trifle is actually very easy to prepare – don’t add unnecessary stress with half-set jelly!
DON’T WASTE IT If you’re using a vanilla pod, give it a good wash after using it in the custard, dry it out, then pop it in a jar of sugar to create vanilla sugar for future bakes.
TIME SAVER Use ready-made custard, if you like (you’ll need around 600ml).
NEXT TIME How you assemble your trifle is up to you – we like to begin with the jelly, then follow it with cake, custard and cream. But layer it in whatever order you prefer. After all, once it’s spooned into bowls it doesn’t really matter anyway.
• 135g raspberry jelly cubes (we used Hartley’s)
• 150g frozen raspberries
• 400g double cream
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 15-20 sponge fingers
• 4 tbsp dry or cream sherry
• Sprinkles to decorate
For the custard
• 300g whole milk
• 175g
