Fruitcake Trifle Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In a bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar and butter until smooth and creamy. Mix in egg and vanilla extract until well combined. In a second bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, ginger and cloves. Add half of dry ingredients to butter-egg mixture; mix until just combined. Add yogurt; mix until just combined. Add remaining half of dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Coat a half-loaf pan with cooking spray; add batter; tap bottom of pan on a hard surface several times to remove air bubbles. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Flip cake onto a wire rack and let cool completely. Spread nuts evenly on a baking sheet; toast until light brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Place nuts in a clean towel; rub gently to remove skins; chop. In a small saucepan, whisk cornstarch into milk until fully dissolved. Bring milk-cornstarch mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally; remove from heat. In a bowl, combine remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, egg yolk and rum. Add one third of milk-cornstarch mixture to sugar-rum mixture, whisking constantly; pour into same saucepan; cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until pastry cream thickens, about 2 minutes. Pour cream into a shallow dish; set plastic wrap on surface of cream and let cool completely. Tear cake into chunks. In each of four 7-ounce serving glasses, divide and layer half of cake chunks, half of cooled rum cream, and half of dried fruit and nuts; repeat layers. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 24; remove from fridge 45 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Place the berries into a large bowl and sprinkle with half of the lemon juice. Lightly toss.
• Combine the berries, sugar, cornstarch and remaining lemon juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook just until the berries begin to break down and give up their juices, about 3 minutes. Take the berries off the heat and let cool; the mixture should thicken up as is cools.
• In a clean bowl, whip the cream with the sugar and the vanilla to soft peaks. Put the lemon curd into a second bowl and stir in a little of the whipped cream to loosen it. Then fold in the rest of the cream.
• To assemble the trifle, spoon a layer of the lemon cream into a large glass bowl. Add a layer of pound cake, breaking the slices into pieces that fit. Then soak the cake with a layer of berries and their juices. Keep going to make 3 or 4 more layers, depending on the size of the bowl, finishing with a layer of lemon cream. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Steps:

• Put 750g frozen summer fruit in a pan with 200g caster sugar and 1 litre water and bring to a gentle simmer.
• Cook for 2 mins, then scoop out 6 tbsp fruit and 150ml juice. Now carry on cooking the fruit in the pan for 5 mins.
• Meanwhile, soak 9 sheets leaf gelatine in cold water to soften it. If you have a hand blender, blitz the cooked fruit or mash with a potato masher, then strain through a sieve into a large bowl and push through the pulp so just the skins and seeds are left.
• Squeeze excess water from the gelatine, add to the hot fruit syrup and stir to dissolve. Cool, then chill until on the point of almost setting.
• Make the custard according to pack instructions with 75g custard powder, 1.2l milk and 50g caster sugar to create a really thick custard. Cover the surface with baking paper while it cools a little.
• Pile 1½ - 2 cubed madeira cakes into a trifle bowl, spoon over the reserved juice and berries, then 4 tbsp sherry or cassis.
• Pour over a thick layer of custard, pushing it against the side of the dish to seal in the cake below. Leave to cool and set with a skin - this makes a barrier for the jelly.
• When the custard is cold and set, and the jelly is on the point of setting, spoon the jelly over the custard and chill until ready to complete.
• Whip 300 - 450ml double cream with 1 tsp vanilla extract and 2 tbsp icing sugar until just holding its shape, then spoon round the bowl over the set jelly. Scatter with 2 crushed amaretti biscuits and chill until ready to serve.