Time to Celebrate the Life of the Woman that Invented Girl Power!

I cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else – I can give my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.

Her Majesty the Queen - Christmas Broadcast 1957

It’s been a sombre old week here in the UK and you know what, rightly so! As the population mourn the passing of Her Majesty the Queen, there has been a lot of sadness, a lot of tears and a public outpouring of love for The Queen and actually the Royal Family in General, (obvs not Prince Pervert Andrew!). Monday marks the funeral, it will be the pinnacle of this sad period and I wanted to mark the historic day in someway so, I’m making a trifle. Not any old trifle, the trifle that won the Platinum Pudding Competition, founded in 2021 by Fortnum & Mason to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

There was a TV program that followed the finalists of the competition that was judged by national treasure, Mary Berry as well as other foodies of note! The pud that won was a Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle – delicious thinks I! So, being no stranger to the kitchen I decide to give it a go so, I go to the Beeb’s website and take a look at the recipe. Not having a week to set aside to make this I thought – feck it, I mean Jemma Melvin, the lady from Southport that won the competition is a genius but wow, talk about complicated!

So, I’m staring at the recipe thinking, it’s a trifle, there has to be some short cuts, and there are!If you’ve retired or have won the lottery and have oodles of time on your hands, the original recipe is here – Good Luck!!

However, if you’re strapped for time but still want to have a go, here’s my cheat’s version! The first thing the original recipe tells you to do is make a Lemon Swiss roll, to be honest, not a difficult recipe however – shortcut number one. Go to the supermarket and buy a couple! I bought mine from Waitrose. I was a little worried it might not be lemony enough so, to boost the flavour I bought a jar of Wilkin & Sons Ltd Tiptree Lemon Curd. To be honest, it didn’t really need it but it does lift the recipe!

The next thig the official recipe asks you to do is make a St Clements Jelly from scratch – I know right! Shortcut number two! Buy three Hartley’s Lemon and Lime ready made jelly pots. The didn’t have them at Waitrose so I had a quick detour to Sainsbury’s!

Shortcut number three – this isn’t really a shortcut and it does need a bit of effort however, here’s my logic! The Custard Layer. Now if you’ve got this far, you’re probs wondering why I didn’t just use bought custard instead of making a custard using custard powder. I did think about it – I even bought a couple of cartons. However, when I realised that the biscuit layer and mandarin coulis layer had to sit on top of it, as well as the whipped cream, I knew that it needed to be thicker.

The custard in the original recipe isn’t really a custard. It is a crème patisserie or pastry cream. Pastry cream is a custard thickened with cornflour. This gives the set pasty cream more structure.

Pastry cream is delicious although it is a bit of a faff to make. The original recipe makes the layer with double cream and lemon extract. Double cream is not cheap to buy in the current climate and I am not a big fan of lemon extract – even using the most expensive and pure variety, it has an oddly fake taste!

So, to make my version, I have used good old Bird’s custard power, other brands are available. Not the instant kind but the one you make up with added sugar and milk. With added lemon juice, you get a good thick layer with not too much fuss and excellent flavour.

I make the custard in the microwave but you can do this in a pan on the stove if you prefer. The additional cornflour makes sure that the custard layer sets extra thick.

The original recipe then suggests you make from scratch your own Amaretti Biscuits – yeah right! In fairness Amaretti Biscuits aren’t that difficult to make, home made ones with a few glasses of Vino Santo are a delight however, as they are simply a component, you guessed it, I bought some! I bought some Bauli Amaretti Biscuits from Waitrose, again most supermarkets have these but be careful, don’t be duped into buying the soft ones – they won’t do!

The official recipe then asks you to make a Chunky Mandarin Coulis. I haven’t cheated this element of the recipe because there isn’t an obvious option for doing so. To be honest, this bit is dead easy, the only thing I would say is that, if you don’t have any arrowroot in your stock cupboard, (luckily, I did!), you can substitute Cornflower.

The next element of the trifle is whipped cream – a trifle isn’t a trifle without tons of whipped cream and honestly, whipping up a couple of cartons isn’t too onerous!

The final element is White Chocolate Shards. I suppose you could leave them out or, simply grate some white chocolate over the top but, I have to say, the shards do make the whole thing fabulous and actually, they do give the trifle an additional texture element so, have a go, it’s not as daunting as it sounds! Simply melt white chocolate, (I use the microwave), spread thinly with pieces of citrus peel pressed in for extra flavour and visual appeal. Not difficult I promise!

And that’s it, simply add each element as a layer into a large trifle bowl in the order I’ve defined above and you’re done! You can do the layers up to the Whipped Cream in advance however, do the whipped cream about an hour or so before you intend to serve and stick the shards in!

So, on Monday, the girls and I will watch the funeral with hankies in hand, wait for all the pomp and circumstance to wind down and we will then celebrate the life of Her Majesty the Queen with a bowl of Lemon Swiss roll and amaretti trifle and a glass of Prosecco or three!

What’s on this week?