Rhubarb Trifle with Ginger Beer Jelly
Serves 4-6
Method:
First, preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4 then make the sponge. Put the almonds, 150g of the caster sugar, the eggs, flour, melted butter and vanilla extract into a large bowl and whisk until combined.
Next whisk the egg whites and the remaining caster sugar in a large, clean bowl until stiff.
Fold the egg whites into the cake mixture, then put it on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and spread it out in a layer about 5mm thin.
Place in the preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
Leave to cool, then turn the sponge out onto a work surface and peel off the paper.
To make the ginger jelly, soak the gelatine leaves in a large, shallow dish of cold water for 10-15 minutes until soft.
Pour the ginger beer into a glass bowl and whisk to get rid of the carbonation. It should be totally flat.
Heat the flat ginger beer gently in a pan with the water, add the sugar and stir until dissolved then remove from the heat.
Drain the gelatine leaves, squeeze out any excess water then add them to the ginger beer pan and stir until completely melted.
Leave the jelly in the fridge for about half an hour, until it just starts to set.
For the compote, put the rhubarb into a saucepan, add the sugar, orange juice and water and bring to the boil.
Simmer gently for 4-5 minutes, until tender, then remove from the heat and strain the juice into another saucepan.
Boil the juice until reduced to about four tablespoons, then stir the rhubarb back in and leave to cool.
To assemble the trifle, cut the sponge into pieces to fit 4-6 glasses (or use one large bowl if you prefer) and sprinkle them with eau-de-vie.
Then put a layer of sponge in each glass, top with some rhubarb compote, another layer of sponge then some ginger beer jelly.
Put the trifle into the fridge so the jelly sets. Top with the crème anglaise and serve.
From Rosemary Shrager's Absolutely Foolproof Classic Home Cooking, published by Hamlyn on the 11th April (£18.99 www.octopusbooks.co.uk)
