Death By Chocolate Trifle, Ditch the Jelly and Sherry!

I absolutely, completely hate trifle: the jelly (which I hate in general) soaked into the sponge fingers has the most revolting texture, the canned fruit cocktail is abysmal, and cold custard.... oh, cold custard. My brother and my Dad love it (sans the sherry, because neither of them drinks), but I find it disgusting.

However! There are alternatives to traditional trifle for those who, like me, despise its very existence. At the end of the day, a trifle is simply a layered dessert which includes cream, cake soaked in a flavoured syrup, and some sort of other filling like custard and/or jelly and/or mousse. Once you know the basic formula, the ideas generate themselves.

In this trifle, I chopped two chocolate brownies into little cubes and sprinkled them with a simple syrup flavoured with peppermint vodka (which I made myself). I prepared some chocolate custard following this recipe.

I made a rich chocolate mousse by separating one medium (US large) egg, placing the white in a bowl for whipping, and setting the yolk aside. In a heatproof bowl over a pan of warm water I melted 1 ounce (30 grammes) of plain chocolate and 1 ounce (30 grammes) of unsalted butter. I then quickly beat in the egg yolk and heated it while stirring for a minute.

I whipped the egg white with 1 ounce (30 grammes) of caster sugar to form a stiff peaking meringue. I folded a third of the meringue into the chocolate, then poured the now-lightened chocolate mixture into the rest of the meringue and folded through completely.

In two 10 ounce (280 millilitre) high-ball glasses, I divided the mousse and allowed it to set in the fridge for about half an hour before adding in the brownie pieces, the custard, and then finally some whipped cream with I had lightly sweetened with caster sugar and swirled with a little red food colouring for a festive feel.

One of these trifles is enough to share between two people, so you can divide the mixture among four tumblers or dessert glasses if you prefer!

If chocolate isn't your thing, you can:

• Make individual tiramisu desserts, soaking lady fingers in coffee- and rum flavoured simple syrup, a traditional light marscapone mousse, and some whipped cream.
• Layer slices of jammy Swiss roll with strawberry mousse (like Angel Delight) and cream.
• Gently sprinkle some gingerbread slices with rum and layer with some thick caramel and whipped cream.

However you make your trifle, be sure to keep it in the fridge for no more than 3 days.

Valentine's Day: Chocolate Trifles (Gluten Free, with Dairy Free Option)

Nothing says Valentine's Day like chocolate, and the only thing better than one kind of chocolate is multiple kinds of chocolate. Behold, a chocolate trifle for you romantic candlelit dinner for two!

This, I will admit, is something I've wanted to try for a while. My companion and I are big fans of the Cadbury dessert pots, which are split into a pot of chocolate custard, and a little pot of sweets, kind of like a split pot yoghurt. Although it's not actually yoghurt, he calls is a chocolate yoghurt.

The only problem with these is that they are actually quite expensive, and I thought wouldn't it be great to try and replicate it at home! That means, I can make a load of it for my companion to enjoy without parting with eye-watering amounts of money for the twin pots in the shop. Also, when you make it at home, you don't have ingredient lists that look like this:

Like, what the actual hell are half of those ingredients.

When you make it at home, you have six ingredients. Six. Not thirty-six. It is best enjoyed immediately after the custard has completely chilled, and only assemble the desserts just before you want to eat them.

INGREDIMENTS
Makes 2 dessert cups

For chocolate custard,

• 6½ fluid ounces (185 millilitres) whole milk, or milk alternative
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) cornflour
• 1 tablespoons (15 grammes) sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence
• Good pinch of salt
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) good quality milk chocolate, about 40% cocoa (or dairy free chocolate), chopped into pieces
• 1 or 2 teaspoons (5 to 10 millilitres) cocoa powder, to taste

To assemble,

• 5 ounces (140 grammes) chocolate cake suitable to your diet, cut into small cubes or crumbled into chunks
• Whipped cream, or cream alternative, for decoration
• Heart shaped sprinkles, for decoration
• Optional: 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) white rum, Baileys, or liqueur of your choice

HOW-TO

First, make the custard.

• In a small saucepan, blend the cornflour, sugar, vanilla, and salt with a tablespoon (15 millilitres) of the milk until it it smooth and there are not lumps.
• Add in the rest of the milk, stirring, then bring to the boil over medium heat, continuously stirring. Once it has reached the boil, continue to boil for about three minutes.
• Remove from the heat, then add in the chocolate and stir thoroughly until completely smooth.
• Return to the heat, and boil again for another minute or two.
• Allow the custard to cool to room temperature, stirring frequently to prevent a skin from forming. This will take about half an hour.

Then assemble the desserts,

• Using two wine glasses or pudding bowls, fill each glass about halfway full with crumbled cake. If you like, you can sprinkle with some alcohol for added interest.
• Divide the custard between the glasses, then chill completely in the fridge for about an hour or two.
• Decorate with whipped cream, either by dolloping or piping on top, then sprinkle with heart shaped sprinkles.

As previously mentioned, these are best enjoyed immediately. They don't keep very well: sometimes the custard goes runny if the cornflour is not cooked thoroughly enough into the custard. So eat straightaway on cooling, just in cases.

THIS TIME IN 2016: No blog

THIS TIME IN 2015: Strawberry Crumble Bars (Wheat Free)

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