Caramel and apple trifle

SERVES
10
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
180
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
40
MINUTES
CUISINE
COURSE
Dessert
Method
First, make the jelly. Put the gelatine into a bowl of cold water and soak for about ten minutes. Make a syrup by combing the caster sugar with 100ml of water and heating until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup comes to a soft boil. Remove it from the heat. Remove the gelatine from the bowl of cold water and squeeze it to remove any excess water. Add to the syrup and stir it in until it has dissolved.
Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature and then add it to the apple juice. Taste, and if you think it is a little too sweet still, add a little more lemon juice. Remember that the trifle has plenty of sweetness form the other elements, so you do not want the jelly to be very sweet. Pour the jelly into your trifle bowl and once the liquid has cooled, cover it with some cling film and put it in the fridge until it is set.
While the jelly is setting, make the sponge. Preheat your oven to 160°C and line or grease a non-stick baking tin, use one that is the same size as your trifle bowl if possible. Stone and chop the dates and place them into a saucepan with the water and simmer until they are soft. Blitz them with a stick blender or in a liquidiser and allow them cool.
Cream the sugar and butter together until they are soft and fluffy. Lightly whisk the eggs and add them to the mixer a little at a time until they are all well incorporated. Now add the cooled date mixture and stir that in. Sieve the flour and baking soda together and carefully fold that through the batter.
Pour the batter into your cake tin and bake for about forty minutes until the sponge is springy to the touch. Test to make sure it is cooked by sticking a clean skewer into the cake, if it comes out clean, your sponge is ready. Set aside to cool.
To make the caramel, heat a heavy-based pan until it is very hot. Now add 75g of caster sugar to the pan. Tilt and swirl the pan so that the caramel doesn’t burn until all the sugar melts.
When the caramel is a deep amber colour, pour in the cream. Be careful when doing this as the sugar may splatter a little and the cream will throw off a fair bit of steam upon contact with the caramel. Stir in the cream until it combines fully with the caramel, you may need to return it to a low heat for a few moments to ensure all the caramel melts into the cream. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Put 325ml of the milk in a pan, add the seeds from a vanilla pod, or half a teaspoon of vanilla extract if you prefer. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Add the last 50ml of milk to the egg yolks. Mix the remaining caster sugar and cornflour together in a large bowl, and then add in the milk and egg mixture. Whisk to a smooth paste. The milk should now be close to boiling, so take it off the heat and pour it slowly onto the egg mixture, stirring all the time. When the mixture is nice and smooth, strain it back into a clean pan and stir over a low heat until it thickens. It is ready when the custard coats the back of your spoon. Increase the heat a little until it comes close to a boil, stirring all the time and then reduce again to a simmer, still stirring, for another 3-4 minutes to cook out the cornflour. Finally add the caramel, stir to combine it well with the custard. Pour the custard into a bowl, cover the surface with some cling film to avoid a skin forming and allow it to cool before chilling it in the fridge.
Peel and core the apples and cut them into wedges. Heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the butter and when it is melted and foamy, drain the apples and put them into the pan. Fry the apples for five minutes. Now sprinkle over the sugar and allow that to melt into the butter and coat the apples. Cook, turning to make sure they are evenly cooked, for another five minutes or so until the apples soften a little but still retain their shape. Add the brandy and mix that through. Cook for another three to four minutes. Remove the apples from the pan and allow them to cool.
Now that you have all your elements prepared, you can assemble your trifle. Cut the sponge into two halves through the centre. You will use the bottom half as a layer over the apple jelly. Settle that into your trifle bowl snugly. If you did not use a cake tin the same size as your bowl, do not worry. Instead of making a solid layer, you can cut the cake into cubes and layer those over the jelly. You will not get as precise a layer, but your trifle will still look and taste spectacular. Next, arrange your apple wedges around the edge of the bowl. You can leave the centre empty for now, just layer the apple wedges up along the wall of the bowl, I usually get about three layers high using this recipe. Cut the remaining half sponge into pieces and arrange that to fill in the middle of the circle of apple wedges. Now pour over the cold caramel custard, smoothing the surface to give you a nice level layer. Spoon on the Chantilly cream, starting in the middle and then spreading it out across the surface of the trifle. Finally, decorate the surface of your beautiful trifle. I used some store bought amaretti biscuits and iced Christmas cookies to decorate this trifle, before dusting the surface with a little grated dark chocolate.
Photographed by BrÃd O'Donovan
Ingredients
For the apple jelly:
500ml of fresh apple juice
Juice of a lemon
4 sheets of platinum grade leaf gelatine
100ml cold water
100g caster sugar
For the date sponge:
175g Medjool dates
300ml water
1tsp bicarbonate soda
50g butter
175g caster sugar
2 eggs
175g self-raising flour
For the caramel custard:
150ml double cream
375ml whole milk
1 vanilla pod
4 egg yolks
20g cornflour
100g caster sugar
For the apples:
6 eating apples
50g butter
1tbsp soft brown sugar
2tbsp brandy (optional)
For the chantilly cream:
500ml fresh cream whipped with 1 tbsp caster sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
First, make the jelly. Put the gelatine into a bowl of cold water and soak for about ten minutes. Make a syrup by combing the caster sugar with 100ml of water and heating until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup comes to a soft boil. Remove it from the heat. Remove the gelatine from the bowl of cold water and squeeze it to remove any excess water. Add to the syrup and stir it in until it has dissolved.
Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature and then add it to the apple juice. Taste, and if you think it is a little too sweet still, add a little more lemon juice. Remember that the trifle has plenty of sweetness form the other elements, so you do not want the jelly to be very sweet. Pour the jelly into your trifle bowl and once the liquid has cooled, cover it with some cling film and put it in the fridge until it is set.
While the jelly is setting, make the sponge. Preheat your oven to 160°C and line or grease a non-stick baking tin, use one that is the same size as your trifle bowl if possible. Stone and chop the dates and place them into a saucepan with the water and simmer until they are soft. Blitz them with a stick blender or in a liquidiser and allow them cool.
Cream the sugar and butter together until they are soft and fluffy. Lightly whisk the eggs and add them to the mixer a little at a time until they are all well incorporated. Now add the cooled date mixture and stir that in. Sieve the flour and baking soda together and carefully fold that through the batter.
Pour the batter into your cake tin and bake for about forty minutes until the sponge is springy to the touch. Test to make sure it is cooked by sticking a clean skewer into the cake, if it comes out clean, your sponge is ready. Set aside to cool.
To make the caramel, heat a heavy-based pan until it is very hot. Now add 75g of caster sugar to the pan. Tilt and swirl the pan so that the caramel doesn’t burn until all the sugar melts.
When the caramel is a deep amber colour, pour in the cream. Be careful when doing this as the sugar may splatter a little and the cream will throw off a fair bit of steam upon contact with the caramel. Stir in the cream until it combines fully with the caramel, you may need to return it to a low heat for a few moments to ensure all the caramel melts into the cream. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Put 325ml of the milk in a pan, add the seeds from a vanilla pod, or half a teaspoon of vanilla extract if you prefer. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Add the last 50ml of milk to the egg yolks. Mix the remaining caster sugar and cornflour together in a large bowl, and then add in the milk and egg mixture. Whisk to a smooth paste. The milk should now be close to boiling, so take it off the heat and pour it slowly onto the egg mixture, stirring all the time. When the mixture is nice and smooth, strain it back into a clean pan and stir over a low heat until it thickens. It is ready when the custard coats the back of your spoon. Increase the heat a little until it comes close to a boil, stirring all the time and then reduce again to a simmer, still stirring, for another 3-4 minutes to cook out the cornflour. Finally add the caramel, stir to combine it well with the custard. Pour the custard into a bowl, cover the surface with some cling film to avoid a skin forming and allow it to cool before chilling it in the fridge.
Peel and core the apples and cut them into wedges. Heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the butter and when it is melted and foamy, drain the apples and put them into the pan. Fry the apples for five minutes. Now sprinkle over the sugar and allow that to melt into the butter and coat the apples. Cook, turning to make sure they are evenly cooked, for another five minutes or so until the apples soften a little but still retain their shape. Add the brandy and mix that through. Cook for another three to four minutes. Remove the apples from the pan and allow them to cool.
Now that you have all your elements prepared, you can assemble your trifle. Cut the sponge into two halves through the centre. You will use the bottom half as a layer over the apple jelly. Settle that into your trifle bowl snugly. If you did not use a cake tin the same size as your bowl, do not worry. Instead of making a solid layer, you can cut the cake into cubes and layer those over the jelly. You will not get as precise a layer, but your trifle will still look and taste spectacular. Next, arrange your apple wedges around the edge of the bowl. You can leave the centre empty for now, just layer the apple wedges up along the wall of the bowl, I usually get about three layers high using this recipe. Cut the remaining half sponge into pieces and arrange that to fill in the middle of the circle of apple wedges. Now pour over the cold caramel custard, smoothing the surface to give you a nice level layer. Spoon on the Chantilly cream, starting in the middle and then spreading it out across the surface of the trifle. Finally, decorate the surface of your beautiful trifle. I used some store bought amaretti biscuits and iced Christmas cookies to decorate this trifle, before dusting the surface with a little grated dark chocolate.
Photographed by BrÃd O'Donovan
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