Robert Irvine’s Raspberry Porter Trifle
Christmas is the sweetest time of the year, and for someone like me, that is a very good thing. Simultaneously, one of greatest weaknesses and greatest joys in my life is an appreciation for sweet desserts. Cakes, cookies, creams and puddings, pies and tarts are all welcome additions to the Christmas table, and putting a focus on great desserts and sweet treats is a wonderful way to set your holiday feasting apart from the fare you serve up the rest of the year.
I’m a big fan of the English approach, featuring plum puddings, treacle tarts, rich trifles and sponge cakes coupled with sweet creams, preserved fruits, flaming rum or brandy sauces and the like. Don’t underestimate the power of fresh fruits or preserves spooned over ice cream with a little raspberry sauce or some other expression of syrupy goodness. Anything that seriously involves chocolate is usually a winner. You don’t have to limit dessert or “sweetmeats” to just after dinner. Mince pies, strawberries with clotted cream, fresh fruit pastries, dried and sugared fruits or creamery butter and preserves with flaky hot scones right out of the oven, are all must-haves for a festive Christmas afternoon tea.
Whether you choose to buy desserts from your favorite purveyors, or if you are talented enough to make your own, celebrate the season and indulge yourself and your family. A great dessert not only makes indelible memories for all of the children in your home during the yuletide season, it brings out the child in all of us. When I served aboard the Royal yacht, Britannia, whilst in Her Majesty’s Navy, it was an honored tradition that the royals on board would descend to the galley and, with the ship’s cooking complement in attendance, christen the Christmas pudding. Make a commitment to give your desserts the royal treatment.
For more recipes and thoughts on culinary matters, go to www.chefrobertirvineblog.com
Raspberry Porter Trifle
with Chocolate Ganache & Whipped Cream
Copyright © 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients for raspberry layer:
1 three-ounce package raspberry gelatin
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup ice water
1/2 cup Porter
Ingredients for crème Anglaise:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, or vanilla extract to taste (approximately 3 tablespoons)
1/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
Ingredients for fruit layer:
1 large can (29-to-32-ounces) fruit cocktail, drained
1 12-ounce Sara Lee pound cake, thawed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 bananas, sliced and tossed with lemon juice
Ingredients for ganache:
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate pieces OR chocolate squares, finely chopped
2/3 cup heavy cream
Ingredients for topping:
1/2 cup heavy cream whipped until light and fluffy with an electric beater
Special equipment:
4 16-ounce or larger wine glasses or snifters (note that the idea of a trifle is to see the layers)
Method for the raspberry layer:
Dissolve the gelatin and sugar in boiling water. Add the cold water
and porter. Loosely cover with a clean paper towel and set aside at
room temperature.
Method for the crème Anglaise:
Pour the milk and heavy cream into a heavy bottomed saucepot and scrape
the seeds from the vanilla bean into the pot (or add vanilla extract).
(If using a vanilla bean, put the vanilla pod in the pot as well.)
Add half the sugar to the pot and bring to a simmer (just below a
boil). In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolks and the rest of
the sugar and temper it by adding a small amount of the heated milk
mixture to the bowl while whisking constantly (known as a liaison).
Now pour the liaison (egg mixture) into the milk pot, stirring
constantly. You are only heating it. Do not boil. Do not cook. The
idea of a liaison is to incorporate the eggs and avoid making them into
scrambled eggs! You want the mixture to begin to thicken so it will
coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and allow to cool, then
remove vanilla pod and discard, and refrigerate until chilled.
Assembly:
Spoon fruit cocktail into each glass as a base layer. Follow with a
layer of cubed pound cake, then a layer of sliced bananas. Spoon about
1/3 cup gelatin/porter mixture on top of the fruit and refrigerate for
2 to 4 hours until the gelatin is set.
Method for the ganache:
A few minutes before serving, make the ganache. Place the chocolate in
a small heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to just under a boil in a
small saucepan. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit for a
minute or two. Stir gently with a rubber spatula until the chocolate
is melted and smooth. If the chocolate is not melting readily, nest
the bowl in another bowl of very hot tap water.
Presentation:
Spoon crème Anglaise over the chilled trifle and drizzle ganache over. Spoon whipped cream on top to finish.
Serve immediately.
Check out Robert’s favorite kitchen products in the Kitchen & Home Gift Guide.
Carolyn T at www.tastingspoons.com on December 25, 2008 at 09:19 PM
I made this trifle today for Christmas Dinner. It was delicious. I made a couple of minor alterations - I doubled it, made it in a trifle bowl (used 16 ounces of pound cake), and made it with cranberry Jell-o instead of raspberry. The creme anglaise is more like a sauce, and is added on top (different), but when you scoop down into it to serve, the creme oozes down to the lower layers. The porter (instead of sherry) was a nice flavor. I had no room to put in the chocolate ganache, so that part was omitted, unfortunately. Next time I'll slightly reduce the quantities so it will fit in the trifle bowl. Our one British family member said this was very authentic except for the bananas, which were hard to come by when he still lived in England.
Rachaelle on January 08, 2009 at 04:05 PM
I just love chef irvine with my husband, they are Terrific