ScarlettCheat’s Chocolate Trifle
June 18th 2008 13:53
Cheat’s Chocolate Trifle
About trifle
A trifle is a dessert dish made from thick (or often solidified) custard, fruit, sponge cake, fruit juice or, more recently, jelly (gelatin), and whipped cream. These ingredients are usually arranged in layers with fruit and sponge on the bottom, and custard and cream on top.
A trifle is often used for decoration as well as taste, incorporating the bright, layered colours of the fruit, jelly, jam, and the contrast of the creamy yellow custard and white cream.
Trifles are often served at Christmas time, sometimes as a lighter alternative to the much denser Christmas pudding.
About American-style muffin
American style muffins are 'quick breads' made in individual molds. Quick breads (chemically leavened as opposed to yeast leavened) were not developed until the end of the 18th century. This took place in America, where pearlash was discovered. Pearlash is a refined form of potash, and it produces carbon dioxide gas in dough. In 'American Cookery' (1796 - the first American cook book) Amelia Simmons published recipes using pearlash. Baking powder was not developed commercially until 1857 (phosphate baking powder).
INGREDIENTS
Serve 8
about 110 gm / 4 oz or 3 double chocolate chip, American-style muffins
200 gm / 7 oz dark chocolate with 70-75% cocoa solids
a 700 gm / 1 lb 8 oz jar of pitted morello cherries in syrup, drained and soaked overnight in 75 ml / 3 fl oz dark rum.
2 tablespoons morello cherry jam or conserve
250 gm / 9 oz mascarpone
400 gm / 14 oz fresh ready-made custard
275 ml / 10 fl oz whipping cream
1. Slice the muffins horizontally in half.
2. Spread each slice with some jam and weld the slices back together to their original muffin shape.
3. Cut each one vertically into 4 pieces approximately 2 cm / ¾ inch wide, and lay these all around the base of a trifle bowl or serving dish with a capacity of 2.25 litre / 4 pints.
4. Take a skewer and stab them to make holes.
5. Strain off the rum the cherries have been soaking in and sprinkle it all over the muffins, scattering the cherries on top.
6. Reserve 50 gm / 2 oz of the chocolate for decoration; break the rest up into squares.
7. Place the broken-up chocolate in a large, heatproof bowl, which should be sitting over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water.
8. Keeping the heat at its lowest, allow the chocolate to melt slowly, it should take about 5 minutes to become smooth and glossy.
9. Remove the bowl from the pan and give it a good stir.
10. Let the chocolate cool for 2-3 minutes.
11. Put the mascarpone in a bowl and heat to soften it.
12. Add the custard and whisk them together.
13. Whisk in the cooled, melted chocolate.
14. Pour the whole lot over the soaked muffins and cherries.
15. Whip the cream to the floppy stage.
16. Spoon the cream over the trifle carefully, spread it out with a palette knife.
17. Chop the rest of the chocolate (using a piece of foil to protect it from the heat of your fingers as you steady it), shredding it very finely.
18. Sprinkle the shreds over the surface of the trifle.
19. Cover with clingfilm and chill until needed.
Tips:
It’s best start the cheat’s chocolate trifle the day before you want to serve it. You need to zip round the supermarket to collect the ingredients, and all you do at this stage is soak the drained cherries overnight in the rum.
**From “The Delia Collection Chocolate” and “Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia” **
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