Trifle

Ingredients:

For the Cake Base:

  • 225g Plain flour
  • 50g Soya marge
  • 150ml Soya milk
  • 2 tsp Baking powder
  • 100g Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 tbsp Cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp Lemon juice
  • 2 tsp Vanilla essence

For the Fruit Layer:

  • 250g Fresh strawberries
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 pint Veg strawberry jelly crystals

For the Toppings:

  • 500ml Soya custard
  • 150ml Whipped soya cream

Method

For the Cake Base:

  1. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside
  2. Slightly soften the soya marge and blend with the sugar, cider vinegar, soya milk, lemon juice and vanilla essence
  3. Gradually add in the dry ingredients
  4. Grease and line a cake tin that is approximately the right size and shape for the bowl you plan to make the trifle in
  5. Place the cake mixture in the tin and bake at 175 degrees for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out of the middle clean
  6. Remove from the tin and allow to fully cool (Ideally, leave it for at least 24 hours before adding the next layer)

For the Fruit Layer:

  1. Slice the strawberries and pour the lemon juice over them
  2. Chill the strawberries while you make mix the jelly
  3. Arrange the sliced strawberries on the cake layer (taking care to place them against the glass round the edges if you are using a transparent bowl!)
  4. Allow the jelly to cool slightly until it is thicker but not set and spoon it over the fruit
  5. Refrigerate until fully set; ideally for at least 24 hours

For the Toppings:

  1. Beat the custard until smooth and carefully pour over the fruit and jelly layer
  2. Tap the sides of the bowl to encourage any air bubbles out
  3. Refrigerate (ideally for 24 hours) so the custard is fully set before topping with the whipped soya cream (use a piping bag if you have one)
  4. Return to the 'fridge and chill for a minimum of an hour or so before serving

Cooking Temperature: 180 degrees

Cooking Time: 20 Minutes

Serves: 8-10

Keeps For: 3 - 5 days (refrigerated)

Tips and Comments

  • I have found the trick to a good trifle to be patience; leaving a good 24 hours between layers is essential to allow each ingredient time to properly cool and set as necessary. Plan ahead, it's worth it!
  • See Not-Dairy for details of soya milk, marge, custard and whipping cream (I used the SoyaToo brand cream).
  • Vegetarian jelly is much more available these days; I used the crystals by Justwholefoods.
  • Different fruits can work well; raspberry is a fairly standard twist on the strawberry classic but other soft fruits like peaches can also be delicious... Feel free to add a splash of sherry to your fruit and jelly layer too!
  • How much effort you want to put into each layer is up to you; you could of course use existing sponge (a good way to use up slightly old cake!) but equally you could make your own custard.