Any time is a good time for a generous serve of trifle! This delicious Raspberry and Elderflower Trifle with Moscato Jelly number is about as good as it gets. The dish is one of many delights in food guru Matthew Evans‘ s new book, Real Food Companion (Murdoch Books). This is a seriously useful and creative kitchen volume that draws on “a lifetime worth of food knowledge, from the soil to the table.” You may even consider this irresistible dessert as part of your Christmas spread!
Raspberries are a celebration of summer. Soft, bright in colour and acidity, sweet and packed full of flavour, they’re brilliant in desserts. I like to use them with elderflowers, which also have a tremendous summery perfume, and are now sold as a cordial in many supermarkets. Failing that, just use freshly squeezed orange juice. If you can’t get moscato, dilute a dessert wine with half its volume in water. It’s best to make the trifle a day before you plan on eating it to let it set. A little weeping in the bottom of the bowl is just fine.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
600 ml (21 fl oz) moscato wine
3 teaspoons powdered gelatine
120 g (4 ¼ oz/about 8) savoiardi (lady finger) biscuits
300 g (10 ½ oz) raspberries
4 eggs, separated
50 g (1 ¾ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
130 g (4 ¾ oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) homemade mascarpone (see below)
80 ml (2 ½ fl oz/1∕3cup) elderflower cordial
Method
Put the moscato in a saucepan over high heat and bring to almost boiling. Whisk in the gelatine until it dissolves, then remove from the heat.
Arrange the savoiardi biscuits in the base of a 25 cm (10 inch) square casserole dish, about 2.5 litre (87 fl oz/10 cup) capacity, and pour over the moscato to coat. Allow to cool, then refrigerate overnight so it sets.
The next day, tip half the raspberries over the top. Whisk the egg whites with the caster sugar until stiff peaks form.
In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks with the icing sugar until pale and light, then beat in the mascarpone, being careful not to overmix or it will split. Stir in the cordial, whisk again, and then gently fold in the egg whites.
Smear this thickly over the biscuit mix and raspberries, top with more raspberries, cover, and refrigerate for 1–2 hours before serving with a glass of moscato.
Homemade Mascarpone
Mascarpone is one of the world’s most exciting creams. But often the stuff you buy isn’t as good as it could be. By making it yourself, you won’t have to pay exorbitant prices and will also get a better result than if you were to buy a commercial variety. This recipe is also handy for people who live in country towns and may not have mascarpone available on supermarket shelves. You can replace the lemon juice with lime juice in this recipe, or add 1 teaspoon citric acid and a vanilla bean to the simmered cream and let it infuse for 15 minutes.
Makes 350 G (12 OZ)
Ingredients
600 ml (21 fl oz) pouring (whipping) cream (35% fat)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained
Method
Put the cream in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a simmer, add the lemon juice and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.
Line a sieve with a double layer of muslin (cheesecloth), and drain the cream into this muslin over a clean bowl.
Refrigerate in the sieve for 1–2 days until firm. Discard the liquid. The solids are your mascarpone, ready to flavour and sweeten if you desire, or just serve it as you would a rich cream.
Store the mascarpone covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Images and text from The Real Food Companion by Matthew Evans. Original photography by Murdoch Books, additional photography by Alan Benson. Murdoch Books RRP $65.00.’
