Christmas Trifle is one of my favorite things to eat during the holidays. There are several ways to make trifle but this way has a few secret ingredients that even Santa might start scoping out the refrigerator once it is made.
*disclaimer*
this recipe does contain alcohol; if you prefer to make it non-alcoholic please remove the brandy from the strawberries
This recipe is broken down into four parts as we are making mostly everything from scratch:
JELL-O
Sponge Cake
Custard
Strawberries
What you need to make this:
To Make the Sponge Cake:
1/2 cup of Granulated Sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup All purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
9-inch oven safe cake pan
To Make the Custard:
Bird's Original Custard
16 oz Milk (can be substituted with almond milk, soy milk or lactose free milk)
1-2 table spoons of Sugar
To Make Strawberries:
20 Strawberries
1/2 cup of Brandy
1 table spoon of Sugar
For Garnish and Layering:
1 tub of Whipped Topping
24 Fresh Strawberries
Strawberry JELL-O sugar free
Directions to make JELL-O:
Follow the directions on the JELL-O box. It is best to make this first as it needs to set for four hours. I usually make this the day before I am putting the entire trifle together.
Directions to make Sponge Cake:
Preheat Oven to 350ºF
Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper (do not use oil or butter line pan)
In a mixing bowl preferably with an electric mixer; beat 3 large eggs for 1 minute on a high speed for approximately 3 minutes.
Slowly add 1/2 cup of granulated sugar ( spoon full at a time) and continue beating for 8 minutes until the mixture is thick and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the 1/2 flour and 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder. Sift this mixture into the eggs by separating it into thirds and slowly sifting into the eggs. Do not over mix. Set speed to slow and use a spatula to fold the excess mixture into each other.
Stop mixing once the flour is completely mixed and there are no streaks.
Pour batter into 9-inch cake pan
Bake for 23-28 minutes at 350ºF . Do not put into the oven if the oven is still heating. Only put into the oven when it is set and heating at 350ºF.
Once cake has browned on the top, remove from oven
Remove from pan and transfer to a cooling rack and remove parchment paper
Let cake cool down a room temperature
Directions to make Bird's Original Custard:
Follow the directions on the Bird's Original Custard. Make the custard right before you will be layering the cake.
Put 2 tablespoons of custard powder and 1-2 tablespoons of sugar in a pan.
Mix into a smooth paste with a little (approx. 2 tablespoons) milk taken from the 16 oz.
Heat the remaining milk to nearly boiling and pour onto the custard mix, stirring well.
Return to the saucepan and bring to the boil over a gentle heat, stirring continuously.
Directions for make Strawberries:
Wash 4 full strawberries and set aside
Wash and cut 20 strawberries into halves and set aside
Wash and cut 20 strawberries into quarters
In a bowl, mix the strawberries with 1/2 cup of brandy and one tablespoon of sugar
Pour into a saucepan, add in 1/4 cup of water and cook for 10 minutes, stir frequently until it comes to a boil. Let cool for 15 minutes until it has thickened.
Directions to put it all together:
In a clear bowl, crumble pieces of cake and line the bottom of the bowl.
Add pieces of JELL-O chunks as second layer
Add in 3/4 of the brandy strawberries and half of the halved strawberries
Pour hot custard into bowl so that the bowl is soaking
Crumble cake as next layer
Add pieces of JELL-O chunks and smooth over
Pour hot custard over trifle
Cover with cling film and store in refrigerator for 30 minutes to cool down
Defrost whipped topping and add as next layer of trifle. It's okay if it is scoops like ice cream. It will even-out.
Top with four strawberries in center
Add remaining strawberries halved strawberries and brandy strawberries
Store in refrigerator for four hours before serving
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