Blackcurrant Trifle

Now that I've got attention ! An easy seasonal dessert loved by all, we are lucky enough that we have a blackcurrant bush in the garden and its been laden this summer with a bumper crop of dark juicy berries. Lucky for us the birds seemed to have bypassed the bush and instead snaffled my small crop of redcurrants that grow nearby. 

This is a recipe where you can go the whole hog and be very chefy making your own sponge and custard from first principles or use a few sneaky cheats, on a hot summer's day I opted for the cheats version.

First we are going to make a blackcurrant compote, this works with any soft fruit by the way in case you were wondering. Take you fruit and half the quantity by weight in caster sugar and warm gently in a saucepan until the sugar has melted and the juices are starting to run from the fruit. Taste for sweetness if necessary add a little more sugar. Fruit compotes store well in a covered dish in the fridge and are great in cakes (see blackcurrant and cassis cake post for clandestine cake club), swirled over yoghurt or with a pannacotta. Chill your compote before making your trifle.

What you will need

• Blackcurrant compote
• Cake sponge (homemade if you wish) or sponge fingers (boudoir / langue de chat) for the cheat
• Custard (homemade if you wish, or custard powder or ready made) ideally thick
• Cream ( whipping or double cream) for garnish - whipped to soft peak stage
• Booze - sherry, cassis, etc (optional) I didn't use

What you do

• Locate your nice glasses that will show of this lovely dessert in all its glory
• Carefully spoon a layer of compote into the glass
• Then layer broken up sponge pieces and custard
• Another layer of blackcurrant compote, keep layering until you are nearly at the top of the glass, finish with custard.
• Now finish the trifle with a sexy dollop of cream and a few reserved berries.