Chocolate orange trifle

I once had a boyfriend called Robin. Our relationship was doomed to failure as, apart from the prospect of spending my life as one half of a comedy Christmas couple, we argued about everything except this pudding. Robin’s mother introduced me to this one Christmas. Eat, undo the top button of your jeans and sit back. You can use fresh oranges instead of the tinned clementines but I think they ruin the texture.

FOR THE CAKE (OR USE 250 G PLAIN VANILLA SPONGE CAKE):

INGREDIENTS

60g self-raising flour

60g salted butter, softened

85g caster sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 tablespoon whole or semi-skimmed milk

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 orange

50ml cointreau

FOR THE REST OF THE ASSEMBLY:

600ml double cream

270g orange jelly crystals

175g tinned clementines, drained

465g chocolate custard

12 chocolate orange segments

or 12 curls orange chocolate

METHOD

You need a 2.2 litre trifle bowl. Or make individual portions in smaller bowls if sharing is difficult.

If you are making this for a large gathering you may already feel stressed. Far be it for me to add to this, so if the thought of making the sponge makes you groan then buy a cake and be done with it.

If making the sponge, pop 5 muffin cases into a 12-hole muffin tin and preheat the oven to 170°C. Beat the flour, butter, 60 g of the sugar, egg, milk and baking powder until pale and creamy, about 4 minutes with a mixer or 8 minutes with a wooden spoon. Finely grate the zest of the orange and add half to the batter and half to the double cream for later. Stir the batter to combine. Spoon into the cases and bake for 15–20 minutes until well risen, lightly browned and a skewer comes out clean.

As soon as the cakes are out of the oven (or packet), heat the remaining 25 g of sugar and the Cointreau™ on the hob until the sugar dissolves. Poke holes all over the cakes using a skewer and pour the syrup over the top. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Make the jelly according to the packet instructions, replacing a little water with the juice from the zested orange. This makes 1.14 litres. Leave in the fridge until almost set.

Remove the cake cases, slice into pieces and line the bottom of the dish. Scatter over the clementines, then top with about 800 ml of the jelly. Leave the rest of the jelly in a bowl for eating later.

Pour over the custard and level it using the back of a spoon. Using an electric or handheld whisk, whip the cream with the added zest to medium peaks and spoon over the top. Decorate with chocolate orange segments or curls and dig in.

#normalmum #chocolate #orange #trifle