Strawberries & cream brandy soaked Trifle (A Christmas SPECIAL! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 (410g) tins strawberries in syrup, juice reserved
1 (410g) tin strawberry jam
1 cup (250ml) good brandy
2 packets Moir’s Strawberry Jelly (x2 [80g] packets)

One 6 egg sponge cake (See recipe)
1 litre (6 eggs) home-made custard (See recipe)
500ml whipping cream (*Do NOT use a dessert or pouring cream. It will NOT whip)

Almost Gluten free! ...I added 4 capfuls vanilla to taste! I also beat it quickly with electric beater after folding in the corn flour, as I find here & there you do get a few lumps. This sponge rises extremely well!
Victoria Sponge with Berries
This is not a difficult Sponge to make although I would say a stand mixer is almost essential unless you are a very patient hand mixer as it's the lengthy mixing time that really makes this cake. (Allow hand mixer to cool & then continue beating to get the full 10min beating done)
This recipe is adapted from the 'Pinch of Salt Sponge' recipe by Margaret Green in Liz Harfull's The Blue Ribbon Cookbook, a wonderful treasury of recipes, stories and tips from prize-winning country show cooks.
For those that are only mildly gluten intolerant, this cake may still be an option as it only has only two heaped teaspoons (20ml) of flour in it.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar (*I just use ordinary table sugar because it dissolves being beaten for 10 mins)
• 1 & ½ cups corn flour
• 2 level teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 20 ml Cake flour
• 15 - 20 ml vanilla essence added to taste (Dependant on how watered down manufacturer in your country makes it!)
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius (150 degrees fan-forced).* I do mine on 180 deg C in large bread machine. Grease two 20 inch cake tins with plenty of butter. You may use 2 very deep sponge cake pans or 2 loaf pans
2. Beat eggs and sugar together in free-standing mixer for around 10 minutes. You can use a handheld mixer but set a timer to make sure you mix it for the full 10 minutes (*NO LESS!!!!!!).
3. Meanwhile, sift dry ingredients and then gently fold into the egg mixture, trying not to bash the air out of it while ensuring it is thoroughly mixed.
4. Divide mixture equally into two cake tins and place in the oven, ideally on the same middle rack.
5. Cook for approximately 20-25 minutes or until the tops are brown and the cakes are starting to pull away from the sides of the cake tins.
6. Remove from oven and run a spatula around the cake edges to loosen before turning out onto a clean tea towel to cool. Place the cake tins on top of the upended cakes so that they cool down slowly. Let cakes cool completely.

1) Sift the dry ingredients to make sure you don't get any lumps of bicarb or cream of tartar. These do not taste good!
2) You must mix the eggs and sugar for a good ten minutes. (I always beat just a little extra allowing motor beater to cool off in interim & then beating again) Don't be tempted to shorten this mixing time - it's an essential part of the process.
3) This cake has minimal sugar making it a suitable treat for children or those watching their sugar intake.
4) If you do have a gas oven you could try putting the cake into a cold oven and then turning it immediately on once the cake is inside. This is said to produce an exceptional cake. (May do same in a bread machines because is so small it heats up very rapidly!)


While sponge cake is cooling down, drain strawberries. Divide strawberry syrup into two containers (Half to one, stir both packets of jelly into the one half. Once the other half of the strawberry syrup is boiling, pour the boiling syrup into cooled jelly syrup stirring constantly to dissolve jelly crystals. Once all crystals are dissolved, blend in 1 whole tin of strawberry jam blending in all well. Add 1 cup (250ml) brandy.
Once sponge cake has cooled, gently break up into bite sized pieces with hands into bottom of a very large trifle bowl or you may use very large punch bowl.
Stir all (Jelly, strawberry syrup/juice, jam & brandy) together & pour over sponges gently tossing drier sponges underneath others to soak up juice. Toss in broken up nuts & strawberries, reserving a few for decoration. Set aside.





Custard (It’s also a milk tart filling)
1 litre milk
80 g Corn flour / Maizena
6 large eggs
1 cup (250ml) / 180g of sugar [I just use ordinary table sugar] (Whiz to ribbon stage with eggs & flours)
30-60ml vanilla essence according to taste (Moir’s have watered it down quite badly now!)
15-30ml butter

In a very large bowl heat up 1 litre milk until rolling boil.
Meantime, in a very large bowl positioned on measuring scale, empty in corn flour slowly but carefully, until it measures 90g on scale. Crack 6 whole eggs over corn flour. With electric beaters switched off gently work it in until all corn flour has been incorporated (Don't want corn flour flying all over kitchen). Switch on beaters & beat continuously till all is well blended, with a fluffy frothy smoothness.
As soon as milk reaches rolling boil & with beaters fast running pour in boiling milk whilst beating continuously till all is smooth and incorporated. Put back in microwave oven for 3 minutes. Beat again until smooth & silky. Put back in for another 2-3 minutes. Remove beat again until smooth and you can taste eggs have well cooked in. Add vanilla essence to taste together with butter. Beat until all has been well incorporated. Pour evenly over soaked sponges.

Prepare Whipped Cream Topping:

Whip up 500 ml fresh cream (Must be whipping cream NOT dessert or pouring!)
Add sugar to taste only whilst whipping. Slow beaters down immediately when you notice it just starts to begin thickening. Go slowly until just whipped (Do not over whip!) If you do you will need to add more cream to rectify. So go slow!!!!!!
Add a dash vanilla or brandy to flavour...Whatever you wish!

Swirl over top of trifle & decorate with reserved strawberries & nuts.

Refrigerate & serve chilled or cool! Enjoy!