Serves: 8
I suppose this trifle doesn’t have much to do with a traditional tiramisu but its mascarpone topping reminded me of the Italian pudding. If you want to save time buy a McVitie’s Jamaican Ginger cake and cut it up for the base of the trifle. I have found it relatively easy to find brambles (blackberries) but you could use frozen fruit (defrosted first) instead. If they are mouth-puckeringly tart add a tablespoon or two of sugar when heating them.
Ingredients
- For the ginger cake
- 110g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 110g light muscovado sugar
- 100ml golden syrup
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 3 knobs stem ginger in syrup, finely chopped (reserve the syrup for later)
- 35g piece root ginger, peeled and grated
- 175g self-raising flour
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 3 teaspoons ground ginger
- To assemble the trifle
- 300g blackberries
- 120g bramble jelly or jam
- 3 tablespoons ginger wine
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 100g caster sugar
- 2 x 250g pots mascarpone
- Crystallised ginger to decorate
Method
- Heat the oven to 180˚c, fan oven 160˚c, mark 4. Grease and base-line a 1 litre loaf tin. Place the butter, sugar and syrup in a saucepan and place over a low heat until the butter has melted. Take off the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes before beating in the eggs, stem ginger and grated root ginger.
- Mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ground ginger and stir into the batter. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin then turn out and wrap in foil and place in an airtight container. The cake will keep well for at least one week.
- For the trifle, place the blackberries in a saucepan and place over a low heat for 3-4 minutes until the fruit starts to break down. Take off the heat and stir in the jelly or jam. Leave to cool completely.
- Cut three or four slices of ginger cake and lay in the base of a trifle bowl. Spoon over the ginger wine. Cover the cake with the cooled fruit.
- Place the egg yolks in a bowl with the caster sugar and 2 tablespoons of the syrup from the stem ginger jar. Beat with an electric whisk for 3-4 minutes until thick and pale. Beat in the mascarpone. In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold into the mascarpone mixture.
- Spoon the mascarpone mousse over the fruit. Decorate with crystallised ginger and chill for 3-4 hours.
