English trifle with a sorbet of Norfolk raspberries and sugared nuts

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Galton Blackiston presents a delightful English trifle recipe. There's fierce debate among serious foodies about what should and shouldn't be included in a trifle; jelly seems to be a modern interloper and purists would have none of it. But with a dessert as good as this, with its rosé and raspberry jelly, the jelly fans may have the edge on the argument.

First published in 2015
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Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Trifle sponge

Rosé and raspberry jelly

  • 450g of raspberries, hulled
  • 4 gelatine leaves
  • 150ml of sparkling rosé wine

English custard

  • 300ml of whipping cream
  • 150ml of full-fat milk
  • 1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
  • 4 medium free-range egg yolks
  • 100g of caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp of cornflour

Raspberry sorbet

Sugar syrup

  • 250g of caster sugar
  • 350ml of sparkling rosé wine

Sugared nuts

To plate

Equipment

  • Food processor or blender
  • Fine sieve
  • Heavy based pan
  • Non-stick frying pan
  • Ice cream maker
  • Muslin cloth
  • Electric mixer
  • Parchment paper
  • 20cm/8in round cake tin

Method

1
Begin by making the sugar syrup, which you will use for the rosé and raspberry jelly and the raspberry sorbet. Put the sugar and wine into a saucepan and heat to dissolve the sugar, then simmer gently for two minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool
  • 250g of caster sugar
  • 350ml of sparkling rosé wine
2
To make the jelly, soften the gelatine leaves in a dish of cold water for five minutes. Meanwhile, place the raspberries and 150ml of the sugar syrup in a saucepan and slowly bring to the boil. Gently poach the fruit until very soft. Pass the mixture through a piece of muslin or jelly bag into a jug
3
Remove the softened gelatine leaves, squeezing out any excess water, and then stir into the still hot raspberries and sugar syrup. Allow to cool at room temperature in the jug until just beginning to set
4
Very slowly and gently, stir in the wine retaining as many bubbles as possible. If you pour and stir too quickly, the mixture will get very frothy. Chill for 3-4 hours or overnight until set
  • 150ml of sparkling rosé wine
5
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4. Grease a deep, 20cm/8in round cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment
6
To make the sponge, put the eggs and sugar into a large bowl set over a pan of hot water and beat with an electric mixer until pale and creamy
7
The mixture will increase in volume considerably and should become thick enough to leave a trail on the surface when the beaters are lifted out. Remove the bowl from the pan and continue to whisk until the mixture is cold
8
Sift together the self-raising flour with the cornflour. Sift half of it onto the surface of the egg mixture and fold in with a metal spoon. Carefully pour half the cooled butter around the edge of the mixture and lightly fold in. Sift over the remaining sifted flour mix and fold in, alternating with the remaining butter
9
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the sponge is well risen, firm to the touch and beginning to shrink away from the sides of the tin. Allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Leave to cool completely
10
While the sponge is baking, make a start on the sorbet. Blend the raspberries in a food processor, then press the purée through a fine sieve to remove the pips. Stir in 150ml of the sugar syrup and the lemon juice and churn in an ice cream machine until softly set, then transfer to a container and freeze
11
To make the sugared nuts, place the pine nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pecan nuts, icing sugar and Grand Marnier in a large, heavy-based, non-stick frying pan
12
Heat gently over the lowest possible heat, stirring occasionally. Be very careful once the sugar starts to caramelise that it doesn't burn. Turn the mixture onto a very lightly oiled tray and allow to cool
  • oil
13
To make the custard (alternatively you could make a crème patisserie), pour the cream and milk into a heavy-based saucepan. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla pod and add the empty pod too. Bring slowly to the boil; then set aside to infuse
  • 300ml of whipping cream
  • 150ml of full-fat milk
  • 1 vanilla pod
14
Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together in a large bowl. Gently reheat the cream and milk mixture. As soon as it reaches boiling point, pour it onto the egg yolk mixture, whisking all the time
15
Pour back into the saucepan and stir over a low heat until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and pass the custard through a fine sieve into a clean bowl. Allow to cool and thicken
16
To assemble the trifle, break up the sponge into pieces and place in the bottom of a large glass bowl, or divide among individual glasses. Douse with the Marsala, then spread over the raspberry jam and leave to soak
17
Carefully break up the rosé and raspberry jelly with a fork or whisk, then spoon it over the soaked sponge. Pour over the custard. Whip the whipping cream to very soft peaks and spread this over the top of the custard
  • 300ml of whipping cream
18
To finish, roughly chop the sugared nuts and sprinkle over the whipped cream. Keep chilled, and serve with the raspberry sorbet
First published in 2015
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There can't be many Michelin-starred chefs who started out selling homemade cakes, biscuits and preserves on a market stall in Rye in 1979. Yet, the quietly spoken, endearingly eccentric Galton Blackiston isn't like other chefs.

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