Come Christmas time, Australia is a bounty of summer fruits ripe for including in your wildest dessert dreams. Former Masterchef contestant and all-round dessert queen Julia Taylor has shared this Christmas trifle recipe incorporating some of our favourite summer fruits. It makes the perfect end to a festive feast, and an impressive dish to serve friends and family this party season.
image via pinterst
Serves: 6
Cooking time: 20 minutes for cake
Prep time: 2 hours plus setting time in fridge
Strawberry, Nectarine, and Coconut Trifle
Strawberry Jelly:
Ingredients
500g strawberries
50g caster sugar
3 nectarines, cut into small dice
4 leaves gold gelatin
Directions
1. Trim strawberries, blend to a puree with caster sugar and place in a small saucepan. Bring gently up to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes.
2. Place gelatin leaves in a bowl of cold water and leave to soak whilst the strawberry puree simmers.
3. Gently pick up gelatin leaves, squeezing out excess water, and stir into puree.
4. Take pot off heat and set aside to cool slightly. Stir through diced nectarine.
5. Pour a 3cm layer of strawberry jelly into the bottom of trifle glass or glasses – it’s up to you whether you make small individual trifles or one large.
6. Keep excess jelly warm at room temperature; this will keep it from setting. If it does start to thicken and set, simply warm and stir over low heat.
7. Place glasses in the freezer to set; this will take about 20 minutes.
Cream
Ingredients
400ml pure cream
50g icing sugar
Directions
1. Whisk the cold cream until soft peaks form, then add the icing sugar and set aside, covered, in the fridge.
2. Once the jelly has set firm in the freezer, remove and gently spoon in a 3cm layer of cream.
3. Place trifle in the fridge until cake is finished.
Coconut Buttercake:
Ingredients
125g unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 lime
1 cup plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup coconut milk
½ cup desiccated coconut
Directions
1. In a free-standing mixer, whisk butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and cream for 1 – 2 minutes or until fully dissolved. Continue to whisk and add egg and yolk, then vanilla and lime. Scrape down the sides occasionally.
2. Sift flour and baking powder together twice. Turn mixer speed to low and add the flour and coconut milk alternately. Fold in the coconut at end.
3. Spread cake mix onto a large baking tray or cookie tray – this helps maximize the number of discs you can cut out at the end for the trifle. If you don’t have a large baking tray then bake in 2 or 3 cake tins, in thin layers.
4. Bake cake at 180C for 12 – 15 minutes or until lightly golden and springy to the touch. Cool on a cake rack.
To Assemble:
1. Cut a disc out of baking paper to match the size of your trifle glasses, and use this as a template to cut two discs of cake for a large trifle, one for a small.
2.The jelly and cream should now be already set in the trifle glasses. Place the first disc of cake carefully on top of the cream, pressing gently to make sure the layer is even. If making small trifles, stop here and chill in the fridge for an hour before serving.
3. For larger trifles, pour a layer of warm jelly on top of the cake (it will soak in), set in the fridge and repeat if desired.
To finish:
garnish cake with extra whipped cream, diced nectarine and strawberries, and mint leaves.
Feature image via pinterest