Christmas Trifle

Step 1

Pre- make the banana bread, cherry and orange jelly and coconut pastry cream.  Recipes are below.

Step 2  Making the trifle – children love doing this part!

Using round bottom tumbler glasses or similar,  set a small amount of the jelly in the bottom of the glass then add a layer of the pastry cream.  Arrange sliced strawberry’s around the glass, then add in a piece of the banana cake, fill in the spaces with the cubed orange and cherry jelly and pastry cream, and then repeat the process.

Decorate with fresh orange segments and cherries.

Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 250g plain flour
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 90g pumpkin seeds roughly chopped
• ½ tsp cinnamon powder
• 6 ripe bananas, mashed
• 125g unsalted butter (softened)
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1½ tbsp maple syrup

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees celcius
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the pumpkin seeds and cinnamon and stir until evenly combined.
3. In another bowl mash the ripe bananas until smooth. Add the softened butter, leaving small visible bits in the mixture. Add the two egg yolks and maple syrup and mix until smooth.
4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
5. Take the two egg whites and beat well to fill with air. Fold gently into the banana batter
6. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 11cm loaf tin.
7. Top with the sliced banana and drizzle with the additional maple syrup and put it in the oven to bake for 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Notes: Overripe bananas are the key to the best tasting banana bread. They will be easier to mash, sweeter and more flavoursome. Because they have so much natural sweetness you can use more bananas and less sugar!

Cherry and orange jelly

Ingredients

• ¼ cup cool water
• ¼ cup boiling water
• 3 tbsp gelatine
• ¼ cup very hot water
• 2 cups fresh orange juice
• 500g fresh cherries (pitted)

Method

1. Pour the cool water in a medium size mixing bowl and add the gelatine powder.
2. Stir briskly until mixed. It will start to thicken.
3. Add the ¼ cup of really hot water and stir to mix. It should be thinner now.
4. Cook the cherries in the orange juice by placing pitted cherries and juice into a pan and cook on low heat until soft.
5. Blend orange and cherry mix and pass through a fine sieve
6. Stir gelatine into the hot mix, pour into a cooking tray to about 2cm in height. Place tray in fridge to set. Setting time is approximately 3-4 hours.  When set, cut into small 2cm cubes.

Note: If you want to create something visually stunning then pour jelly into individual glasses as they tipped on their side and pop into the fridge to set, lopsided…it’s a bit trickier but looks amazing for that special Christmas occassion!

Coconut Pastry Cream

Ingredients

• 3 large egg yolks
• 2-3 tablespoons agave syrup
• 1 cup coconut milk; divided
• 2 tablespoons cornflour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Method

1. Whisk together the egg yolks and the 2 tablespoons of agave in a bowl. Whisk the cornflour and 1/4 cup coconut milk in a small bowl and then add to the egg yolk mixture, whisking to combine. Set aside briefly.
2. Place 3/4 cup coconut milk in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat on the stove over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until tiny bubbles appear on the edge of the pan.
3. Pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from cooking.
4. Return the entire mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens.
5. Strain the mixture in a fine mesh strainer set over a mixing bowl. Stir in the vanilla.
6. Scrape the pastry cream into a bowl, press a piece of plastic wrap to the surface and refrigerate until needed.

Merry Christmas everyone!