raspberry and passion fruit trifle

This trifle is one of my Christmas favourites, as a kid in the 80's in the UK, trifle + The Wizard of Oz = Christmas. This one has had a few tweaks over the years; there's no sponge, for no explicable reason, I find damp sponge in tiramisu heaven, but in a trifle it's unbearable, same for the fruit, it's added at serving time, absolutely no fruit suspended in this jelly. The custard has morphed into a light, billowy bavarois, my favourite layer. It can be made a day or 2 ahead, add the whipped cream, meringues and a tumble of berries just before you serve. This trifle feeds a crowd, 16 generous portions, you'll need a large serving bowl, mine is 25cm wide, by 20 cm deep.

It's fabulously adaptable, the flavours of the jelly and bavarois layers are easy to tinker, substitute the raspberries in the jelly for any seasonal berry, peaches are delicious; swap the passionfruit juice in the bavarois for orange juice, pureed strawberries, or extra milk with vanilla. Adding flavours to the meringue is simple too, toss in a handful of chopped chocolate or nuts, pistachios would be oh so Christmassy! When cherries are at their peak I'll make a black forest version, cherry jelly, chocolate bavarois, dark chocolate studded meringues, and a crumbled flake. Whatever the flavour, portion it carefully, trifle for Boxing Day breakfast is another cherished tradition.

The layers

(serves 16)

raspberry jelly, recipe below

passion fruit bavarois, recipe below

600ml whipped cream

3 additional punnets raspberries to serve

• follow the instructions for the jelly and bavarois layers, and the meringues below

• when you ready to serve, top the bavarois with roughly half the whipped cream, a handful of raspberries, and 6-8 meringues. Serve immediately with the additional meringues, berries and cream on the side

raspberry jelly

350g caster sugar

juice of a lemon (max 50ml)

500g raspberries

4 titanium strength gelatine leaves

• tip the sugar, lemon juice and 650ml water into a saucepan, stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to a boil. Add the raspberries and simmer for 5 minutes. Cool in the pan, then pop it into the fridge for a couple of hours, even overnight, to develop the flavours.

• place a muslin lined sieve over a large bowl, carefully tip the raspberry liquid into the sieve, and leave to strain. Do not press the fruit, just leave it to gravity and you should have a nice clear syrup.

• soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes, meanwhile pop about 1/3 of the raspberry liquid into a small pan and bring to a simmer, squeeze the water from the gelatine leaves, take the pan off the heat, add the gelatine and stir to dissolve. Combine the raspberry gelatine liquid with the rest of the raspberry syrup and pour into your serving dish, cover and place in the fridge for approximately 6 hours to set. 

passionfruit bavarois

190ml milk

6 jumbo egg yolks

225g caster sugar

150 ml passion fruit juice (approximately 12 passion fruit)

2 1/2 titanium gelatine leaves

375ml thick cream, whipped to soft peaks

• pop the milk in a medium pan and bring to a simmer, meanwhile whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy, add the passion fruit juice, then slowly stream in the hot milk, whisking as you go. Return to the pan, over a low heat, stir continually until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon, take off the heat

• soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes, squeeze out the excess water, then add to the custard and stir to dissolve. Pour through a sieve into a clean bowl, and pop into the fridge for a hour, give it a quick whisk every 10 minutes to prevent it setting around the edges

• after an hour the custard will have almost set, take it out of the fridge, whisk to smooth it out, then using your whisk, fold in the whipped cream

• carefully pour the bavarois over your jelly layer, it should level itself, you can help it along with a palette knife or the back of a spoon if necessary

• cover and return to the fridge to set, approximately 4 hours

meringues

3 egg whites

165g caster sugar

pinch cream of tartar

• pre-heat oven to 100ºC, line a baking sheet with baking paper

• put the sugar and egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer, lightly whisk together to break up the sugar

• place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, make sure the bowl does not touch the water, whisk the egg whites until the sugar has dissolved, they have increased in volume and feel hot

• put the bowl on the stand mixer, add the cream of tartar and whisk until the egg whites are marshmallowy and are cool

• drop small spoonfuls of meringue onto the lined tray, bake for approximately an hour, until the meringues feel crisp and dry

• store in an airtight container, the meringues will keep for 2 weeks