I got so excited about sharing this gluten free sherry trifle recipe, that I really didn’t know where to start! So many words, so many trifle food memories… spotting it on a well laden sweet trolley, my mum making it every Christmas. You get it?!! Trifle brings me GREAT joy!
Trifle when done well (and in particular when served from a nice big fancy dish), is one of my absolute favourite puddings, and preparing one on Christmas Eve in readiness to fully assemble on Christmas day, has now become one of my festive rituals.
This sherry trifle recipe pretty much replicates the one my mum used to make (which was incredible!). And it makes me so happy, that I can share how she made it with you. The only difference from my mum’s ‘original recipe’, is that the base is gluten free sponge cake, everything else is the same.
Ingredients
For the sponge cake
110g (4oz) softened butter (I use Lurpak full fat spreadable)
110g (4oz) caster sugar
110g (4oz) gluten free self- raising flour or mix (add ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum if not already in the gf flour)
2 large eggs (room temp)
1 teaspoon *vanilla extract
For the fruit layer
50ml cream sherry (add more if you fancy)
250g (9oz) raspberries (I used fresh, but frozen would be fine)
1 x 135g pack raspberry Jelly
¾ pint water
For the custard
1 pint of full fat milk
2 heaped tablespoons *custard powder
2 level tablespoons sugar
To finish
300ml double or whipping cream for a lighter finish
1-2 *Cadbury flakes crumbled or grated *chocolate
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4/160C Fan.
Grease and line a 1lb loaf tin. If you don’t have a loaf tin a 8 inch sandwich tin would be fine.
Add all the ingredients for the sponge into a large mixing bowl and with an electric mixer whisk until pale and creamy.
Transfer the mixture into the prepared tin and pop into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes until the sponge is golden brown and springy to touch.
Remove from the oven. It’s fine to leave in the tin to go cold.
Once cold, cut the sponge into slices about ½ inch thick and lay them out to cover the base of the dish. Break off some smaller pieces of sponge, and use to patch any gaps. You probably won’t need to use all the sponge cake.
Pour or spoon over the sherry. I found using a teaspoon made it easier to drizzle it evenly over the sponge.
Next scatter the raspberries over the sponge.
To make the jelly, follow the instructions on the pack. But after the jelly cubes are dissolved only add a ¼ pint of cold water rather than ½ pint.
Pour the jelly over the raspberries. Leave to cool for about ½ hr before covering and transferring into the fridge to set.
To make the custard: Pour almost all of the milk into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Whilst you are waiting for the milk to boil, blend together the custard powder and sugar with the remaining milk until nice and smooth.
Once you see the milk beginning to boil, pour in the prepared custard mixture and whisk constantly until the custard thickens. To make sure the custard powder has fully cooked out, it’s best to have a quick taste. If it tastes a bit powdery, cook out a little longer.
Transfer the custard into a clean mixing bowl (one large enough for you to whisk the custard later). Cover the custard straight away with a disk of greaseproof. Press he greaseproof gently down onto the custard. By doing this you will prevent a skin from forming.
Leave the custard to cool before transferring into the fridge to chill completely.
Once the jelly has set and the custard is cold (takes approx. 3 hours) you can crack on with assembling the trifle:
Remove the paper from the custard and skim off any odd bits of custard skin you see. Whisk the custard with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
Spoon the custard over the trifle base and smooth out.
In a large mixing bowl whisk the cream until it thickens. It’s very easy to over whip the cream, so go slowly. I’d recommend ever so slightly under whipping rather than over.
Spoon the cream onto the custard and spread out with the back of the spoon or palette knife and then sprinkle over crushed chocolate flake.
Pop the trifle into the fridge for a good hour or so before serving up. I feel this gives all the delicious layers chance to bed in nicely.
Recipe notes and suggestions:
The fully assembled trifle is at its best on the day it’s made. The trifle needs be stored in a fridge and best eaten within 2 days.
To make life easier, the sponge cake base can be made in advance. It can be frozen; just wrap it well and pop it into a freezer bag before freezing.
The trifle base can be assembled, and the custard can be made a day in advance and stored in the fridge.
For quickness you can use shop bought gluten free cake for the trifle base. Something like Mrs Crimble’s Classic French Madeleines would work well. Or maybe you fancy using a Maderia cake recipe for the base instead?
As always, this trifle recipe is only the start from me, you must swap the things you use to make it however you wish; Change the fruit you use, don’t add sponge or sherry, reduce the sugar and make it suitable for your individual dietary needs, all those sorts of things. And of course top it with anything you fancy too. Toasted flaked almonds work really well!
Thanks for checking out my gluten free sherry trifle recipe. I hope you love it as much as I do. And, If trifle is your thing, I think you’ll like this rather terrific, easy to make raspberry and white chocolate trifle. I’ve also got a video on my YouTube channel of me making a gluten free sherry trifle. Click here to watch.
For now,
Liz x
*Check this product to ensure that there are no gluten containing ingredients or ‘may contain’ or ‘not suitable’ warnings on the pack.
