Overnight Sensation // Raspberries

My brother - Glass Candle Grenades - is leaving to work in America. Anyone would think he's off forever the way my Mother is acting. He's having a last supper of roast beef followed by trifle. It seems the trifle is down to me. He's only off for about four to five months, I think, to work at Camp America.


I hate trifle. Cream is never really something I can get excited about. Nor is custard. If there is pie on offer, I'd much prefer to have pie with nothing else. My Father will put cream and custard on everything, and Oliver will just take the custard. All of it. Straight out of the tub.
But for me the combination of cream and custard and jelly and sponge is just ick. No. Why do it?


So I wasn't very excited about this dessert until Jonny gave me the challenge of not using a recipe. So I have planned a raspberry and almond trifle. And because the recipe is mine: I can post it. I will also defend my use of shop bought custard as it's Oliver's absolute favourite, and any custard I make would never be good enough.
 It's made up of five elements and takes two days to make so if you're about to embark on "libby's awesome raspberry and almond trifle" make sure you give yourself time to plan...


Libby's Awesome Raspberry and Almond Trifle

Genoise Sponge
115g caster sugar
4 eggs
60g plain flour
55g ground almonds
55g butter – melted and cold

Heat the oven to gas mark five and prepare an eight inch tin.
Combine sugar and eggs – put on a bain-marie until the egg mixture reaches roughly 40 degrees. Take off the bain-marie and whisk until cold and ribboning. The mix should look creamier than when you started, and should be thick enough to leave a pattern when you drizzle some back into the mix; you should be able to complete a figure of eight before it starts to sink back in. It will take about 10 minutes by hand and a little less with an electric whisk.
Fold in the flour and ground almonds and then add the melted butter.
Put in the tin and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Amaretto Syrup

50g Water
50g Sugar
25g Amaretto

Boil the sugar and water for 30 seconds. Put in a metal bowl to cool.
Allow to cool completely and then add the Amaretto.
Keep in a sealed container

Raspberry Jelly

250g Raspberry pureé (I used frozen raspberries blended with a bit of water)
250 Stock Syrup (half sugar, half water)
12.5 g gelatine
A few whole raspberries

Soak gelatine in cold water until nice and floppy. Remove from the water and set aside.Boil up the syrup, then add to raspberry pureé, then whisk in the gelatine until it is fully dissolved. Add some whole raspberries if desired.

1 tub of shop bought fresh custard
A couple of tubs of Whipping Cream
Flaked Almonds for decoration
Fresh raspberries for decoration


Assembly:

Day 1
Make Amaretto syrup. Bake genoise sponge. Remove from tin and soak with Amaretto syrup. When cool slice up and layer in the bottom of trifle bowl. You may have some left over.
Make the jelly and pour over the sponge pieces. Leave outside for a while until nearly cool, then cover and move to fridge to set overnight.

Day 2
In the morning pour the custard over the jelly – leave uncovered in fridge.
When it's time to serve, whip up the cream until just stiff and heap on top of the custard. Sprinkle with flaked almonds and fresh raspberries. Serve immediately.