Raspberry and Almond Trifle with Amaretto

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A classic British Christmas and celebration dessert, Trifle is a glorious and sumptuous combination of cake, fruit, alcohol, custard and cream. If you have grown up in the UK, you will have undoubtedly eaten this dessert on numerous occasions and in many guises.

It lends itself well to adaptations. This is my Raspberry and Almond Trifle with Amaretto. You can also make chocolate orientated trifles, or coffee. You can use chocolate or strawberry custard and you can use different fruits and alcohol. Use your imagination.

We all have our favourite parts of the trifle and this will effect the proportions of the sponge/alcohol/fruit/custard and cream we use. There are certain aspects which, for us, are not negotiable:

• no jelly/jello – controversial I know!
• no area of the sponge should be dry – it should all be soaked in juices from the fruit and the booze
• it is not a health food – go large on the custard and the cream
• I don’t use sherry – we prefer other drinks such as Amaretto and Kirsch
• it should be soft enough that when served, it looks like it has been in a car crash! A wedge of trifle absolutely does not work for us!

This is the way we like it – and I make no apologies for that. Feel free to increase and/or decrease certain aspects to suit your own personal taste.

How to make Raspberry and Almond Trifle with Amaretto:

Collect all your ingredients together:

I shall break down each part of the trifle and list their ingredients. Where appropriate, I shall also offer convenient alternatives to make this a much easier and quicker option to make at home.

Sponge Layer:

• unsalted butter, at room temperature
• caster sugar
• large eggs
• plain/all-purpose flour
• ground almonds
• baking powder
• salt
• milk

OR:

• shop bought large Swiss roll filled with jam

How to make the sponge layer:

For more details on making sponge cakes, please see here.

1. Place your mixing bowl on top your scales and weigh everything directly into the bowl.
2. Use an electric whisk to beat until combined.
3. Divide between 2 x 18cm/7inch cake tins, greased and lined. (These fit my trifle bowl perfectly. If they are not a good fit, either use different size tins or cook in muffin cases.)
4. Cook in the centre of a pre-heated oven until cooked. It is cooked when:
   • the centre feels springy when lightly touched with your finger and no imprint remains
   • a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean
   • the cake is beginning to come away from the sides of the tin.
5. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes and then remove and leave to cool on a cooling rack.

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Raspberry Layer:

• frozen raspberries
• sugar
• water

How to prepare the raspberries:

1. Put the raspberries into a saucepan and add the sugar and water.
2. Cook over a low heat until the raspberries have de-frosted, the sugar has dissolved and the fruit is soft – around 10 minutes
3. Set on one side to cool.

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Homemade Custard:

• mix of fresh cream and milk (The ratio will depend on how rich you want the custard to be.)
• caster sugar
• cornflour
• vanilla extract
• large eggs
• pinch of salt

OR:

• equivalent quantity of Bird’s or equivalent custard made according to packet instructions

How to make the custard:

1. Put the milk and cream into a saucepan and heat over a moderately hot heat until steaming but not boiling.
2. Mix the caster sugar, cornflour, vanilla, eggs and salt thoroughly in a large jug.
3. Pour the hot milk and cream onto the egg mixture and stir well.
4. It is important to wash the saucepan well before returning the custard to the pan.
5. Put the pan back onto a low heat and cook, stirring all the time, until it thickens. This could take up to 5 minutes. Take off the heat.
6. Use your finger to check it is cooked: you should be able to run a clean line through it on the back of a spoon.
7. Set aside to cool for roughly 10 minutes whilst you assemble the trifle

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Assemble the Trifle:

1. Add a layer of sponge cake to the base of your trifle dish and sprinkle over half the Amaretto.
2. Top with half of the raspberries and their juices.
3. Add the second layer of sponge, add the remaining Amaretto and raspberries.
4. Pour over the custard.
5. Level the top and leave to cool.
6. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

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Top with the cream and decorate:

1. Simply put the fresh cream into a bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until it reaches the soft peak stage.
2. Spoon the cream over the custard and level the surface.
3. Decorate with your chosen options and put in the fridge until you are ready to serve. We like to decorate with grated chocolate. Simply take a bar of chocolate at room temperature and use a potato peeler to grate over the top of the trifle.

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Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.