This dessert was borne out of a bundt cake I was attempting to make to celebrate my Daddums finally being released from hospital, 17 weeks to the day he was first admitted.
But, alas!
The damn thing flopped and sagged and bagged – it made Bag Puss look upstanding! Anyhow, it wasn’t so miserable a failure – it meant I had the fragrant foundations of that Great British institution – trifle!
Layer up some broken lemon or if you have it – some St. Clement’s sponge (oranges and lemons said the bells of St. Clement’s…), drizzle over a liquid of your choice then spoon over some homemade lime curd (which, strictly speaking is a custard made with fruit pulp rather than cream and the acid from said fruit helps the set).
The topping is softly whipped double cream with a fragrant splash of orange blossom water. A little dark chocolate to top gives a hint of richness against the tang of the fruity flavours otherwise.
There you have it – a tangtastic trifle for two which will set your taste buds alight with the citrus tang of orange, lemon and lime plus a little of the exotic with the orange blossom water. Isn’t it always the way that some of the best things to eat come about by accident?
- Two slices of cake
- Juice of an orange plus 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 3-4 tbsp curd of your choice I made my own lime curd
- 125 ml double cream 1/2 cup
- 1-2 tsp orange blossom water to taste
- Grating of dark chocolate optional
- 75 g butter
- 100 g caster sugar
- Juice & zest of four limes
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
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Cut your cake into chunks and share between the two ramekins
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Pop the orange juice in a saucepan with the caster sugar and heat until reduced by half and syrupy in texture
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Pour over cake and lightly press down
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Spoon over as much of your curd as you like
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Whip the cream with the orange blossom water until thickened not stiff and pipe or spoon over in a way that pleases you (it’s your trifle after all!)
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Grate over chocolate then dive in head first, mouth open!
To make the lime curd:
1. Melt the butter in a heat proof bowl
2. Add all the other ingredients and stir over a low heat continuously until thickened like custard then pour into a sterilised jar and seal if not using immediately
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Like this post? Then why not try these related recipes:
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- GF Orange & Vanilla Bundlettes
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- Pistachio, Lime & Chilli Friands
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- Microwave Lemon Curd
Oh I adore trifle but, sadly, no one here in Continental Europe feels the same way. In fact, when they think of “bad” British food, they often have hilarious stories about “this one time, my host mother made this dish with green jelly, sponge and whipped cream which was served with this gloopy yellow liquid from a carton …”.
This was actually the trifle of my childhood which I still have fond memories of – green or red wobbly jelly with store-bought custard and probably a chocolate Freddo frog for decoration. I loved it and would still make it this way but for the fact that I would probably be eating alone, LOL!
But I also love elegant trifles made from proper sponges with curd or home-made custard.
I love that you rescued a failed cake and turned it into something wonderful 🙂
Aw Creme, Neil loves those “Bird’s” trifles – a box with all the freeze dried packages in ready for reconstitution and whipping then sprinkling with hundreds and thousands. Bless! I have made it for him once – the first time I ever made a trifle was this stuff actually and it was yum when I didn’t know any better! As for having to eating it all alone, is that such a bad thing? 😉
As for the failed cake, it was a fail as it structurally slumped however, the taste was something else and I do plan on recreating it with some tweaks very soon. It was so lusciously lemony and orangey and wonderful warm with a dollop of the cold, cold curd yuuuum!
although i don’t like jelly trifle is a fav,and this looks great,all my fav bits and no jelly!
Exactly Lorna – jelly has no place in my culinary repertoire! Hungry Hubby has a soft spot for it but even he bought a few packets of that Rowntree’s stuff and begrudgingly, I gave them precious baking cupboard space but even he had to chuck them as they were 2 years out of date by the time he got around to checking them!
I have not yet been able to bring myself to make a trifle. My childhood is riddled with dry sponge covered in canned fruit which was slathered in canned custard and some whippy cream on top. Disgusting. Especially the fruit mix with the ‘orrid cherries. UGH….and yet I know that if I do make one, I will kick myself for not having done it sooner!!!
Love the fact you put the cake to good use JO, and got something marvellous to eat. :-))
Well Carrie, you’ve thrown down the gauntlet here now! We HAVE to find you a trifle recipe worthy of you making it – think of it like this: you would never call a Big Mac a gourmet steak burger in an artisan bun but you might if you made it yourself. Push all those icky childhood memories aside and think of it this way – moist, rich cake = LUSH; tangy curd or vanillary homemade custard = BLISSFUL; softly whipped and scented double cream = INDECENTLY GOOD therefore “trifle” = lush, blissful and indecently good! 😉