My Nana used to pride herself on two things – her split pea soup and her trifles! When I was about six, I told her that she was the best ‘trifler’ in the world and I’m not exaggerating when I say that from then on, she reminded me of this EVERY single time she made a trifle. You could pour over some sherry at this point if you were feeling that way inclined. 😉 Layer 2 – Strawberry Jelly

Layer the bottom of your dishes (or dish if you’re making one big trifle) with your sponge fingers. Today I used two in each dish and I snapped each one into quarters so I could cover the bottom of the dishes. One thing to be aware of when it comes to using fruit in jelly is that some fresh fruits will prevent your jelly from setting; these include fresh pineapple, kiwi and papaya. Using these fruits are part of tinned mixture doesn’t seem to have that effect though…don’t ask me why. Dream Topping Banoffee Pie – one of my favourites. Use Dream Topping as the top/white layer on top of your standard banoffee pie recipe.

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The Dream Topping is now ready to be spooned onto fruit, cakes, trifles, or blended with other ingredients to make Dream Topping frosting for cakes, or to create flavoured mousse. Use Dream Topping to make a trifle topping with a whipped cream layer – or even use it to add a deeper creamy topping to a standard box of trifle mix. Whisk for approximately two minutes, preferably with an electric hand whisk or rotary whisk, until the topping is light and fluffy. The final layer of your trifle is the cream. For peace of mind, Granny recommends using whipping cream; as it is easier to whip without the risk of over-whipping. However, I tend to find that whipping cream isn’t as readily available, compared to double cream. For that reason, I have listed double cream as a choice too. Both give fabulous results, just be cautious not to over-whip your double cream! (Or use whipping cream if you’re concerned). Then put the bowl into sink with cold water in it, careful not to let water to get into the bowl and stir custard for several minutes to get custard to cool down. Keep stirring until custard has cooled to blood temp, keep stirring so it doesn't form a skin.

The only difference between my trifle and hers is that she used to splash some sherry over the sponge fingers in the first layer but I leave that out because I’m not really a fan of sherry in general and I would just be buying it for the annual Christmas trifle which is a bit of a waste. Everything else is as she used to make her trifle and it really does make me think of her when I’m making it and even more so when we sit down as a family to eat it. I make a large sherry trifle every Christmas. I put Madeira sponge as the base, soak it in sherry then add strawberries and make a pint of strawberry jelly using some strawberry juice to replace the pint of liquid. Pour jelly liquid over carefully and put straight into fridge. I first published my traditional English trifle post a good few years ago now but with the jubilee celebrations approaching, I thought I’d reshare it because my lovely Nana would have been over the moon with me sharing her with you all! I am planning to make it myself for the Jubilee celebrations so I’ll update the photos when I do (if I remember)! The last layer is cream and more often than not, I know that whipped cream is used here so if that’s what you want to use then get whipping and then spoon the cream onto the top of your trifle.

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I will typically make up 1-2 portions of Dream Topping by 1/4-ing the recipe: Single Portion of Dream Topping. This is the controversial layer – do you or don’t you add jelly to a trifle? I do because that’s the way my Nana made it but I know that not everyone agrees. To me, it’s not a traditional English trifle without the jelly so its inclusion is never in doubt in this house!