Clementine and gingerbread trifle

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Alyn Williams' clementine trifle recipe presents a cheffy take on a classic - pairing a clementine sponge, jelly and granita with a lightly spiced gingerbread foam. The foam in this recipe will be fluffiest when using an espuma gun, but you can achieve a nice effect without. Instead of placing the cooled crème angalise into an espuma gun, whisk until light using a hand blender. Once frothy, fold in 200ml of whipped cream to lighten the mix and spoon on top of the trifle.

First published in 2015
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Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Clementine sponge

  • 100g of unsalted butter, soft, plus extra for greasing
  • 100g of caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 100g of self-raising flour
  • 1 clementine, zest only
  • 2g of salt

Clementine granita

  • 250g of clementine purée
  • 50g of water
  • 25g of sugar
  • 1 tsp lemon juice

Clementine jelly

  • 500g of clementine purée
  • 20g of caster sugar
  • 4 gelatine leaves

Gingerbread foam

Gingerbread crunch

  • 1/4 pain d'epice loaf

Equipment

  • Espuma gun
  • Muslin cloth
  • Gas cartridge

Method

1
Begin by preparing the granita. Mix all of the ingredients together until thoroughly combined. Pass through a fine sieve into a freezer-proof rectangular container and place in the freezer until frozen solid - this should take approximately 6 hours
  • 250g of clementine purée
  • 50g of water
  • 25g of sugar
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
2
Once the granita is completely frozen, scrape with a fork to form a snow-like, granular texture. Cover the granita and store in the freezer until ready to serve
3
Preheat the oven to 180˚C/gas mark 4
4
For the sponge, butter and line a 12cm square cake tin with parchment paper. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs until smooth. Gently fold in the flour, salt and clementine zest until just combined, ensuring not to overwork the sponge mix
  • 100g of unsalted butter, soft, plus extra for greasing
  • 100g of caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 100g of self-raising flour
  • 1 clementine, zest only
  • 2g of salt
5
Pour the sponge batter into the baking tin and tap the base of the tin on the work surface a few times to remove any large air pockets
6
Place in the oven for approximately 25 minutes until risen and golden brown. To make sure the cake is cooked through, insert a metal skewer into the sponge - it should come out clean. Allow to cool before turning out of the tin. Once the cake is completely cold, carefully slice into 1cm cubes and set aside
7
For the jelly, combine the purée and sugar in a saucepan, bring to the boil and remove from the heat. Soften the gelatine in cold water for a few minutes, then squeeze out any excess water and add to the hot clementine purée
  • 500g of clementine purée
  • 20g of caster sugar
  • 4 gelatine leaves
8
Stir to dissolve the gelatine, then pass through muslin cloth into a jug. Evenly fill 4 clear trifle dishes with the jelly mix and leave to set in the fridge
9
For the gingerbread foam, add the cream to a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, add the remaining ingredients to a bowl and whisk together until well combined
10
Slowly pour half of the hot cream on to the egg mixture, whisking as you pour, then transfer back to the pan with the remaining hot cream. Place on a low-medium heat and cook until the crème anglaise coats the back of a spoon, or reaches 80˚C
11
As soon as it reaches this stage, remove from the heat and pass through a fine strainer into a clean jug. Cover with a cartouche to stop a skin forming and allow to cool completely. Once cool, use the mix to fill an espuma gun or cream whipper halfway, then charge with 1 or 2 nitrous oxide charges. Shake lightly before use
12
Preheat the oven to 160˚C/gas mark 2
13
For the gingerbread crunch, slice the pain d'epice into 1cm thick slices. Arrange on a tray lined with parchment paper, place another tray on top and bake in the oven for 12 minutes until crispy. Remove from the oven, allow to cool and chop into small pieces
  • 1/4 pain d'epice loaf
14
To serve, remove the trifle glasses from the fridge and place the sponge cubes in each. Cover with the granita, add a generous amount of gingerbread foam and garnish with the gingerbread crumb
First published in 2015
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Alyn Williams has worked at some of the very best kitchens in Britain, training for many years under Marcus Wareing and Gordon Ramsay. His plates display his own unique culinary personality – brilliantly accomplished, playful and with remarkable interplay of flavours.

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