Meera Sodha’s Recipe For Rhubarb And Custard Trifle

The first clip I had rhubarb and custard together was successful a boiled saccharine from a large jar successful my mum’s area shop. You could flip nan saccharine successful your rima and swipe nan flavour you wanted pinch your tongue. Too tart? Flip to nan custard side. Too creamy? Flip again. It was 1 of nan champion ways to walk 10 minutes arsenic a seven-year-old successful nan early 1990s. A fewer decades on, a batch has changed. Mum nary longer has a area shop, I don’t emotion boiled sweets immoderate more, but eating rhubarb and custard is still a awesome measurement to walk 10 minutes (at nan very least).

Rhubarb and custard trifle

You’ll request 2 large, astir 30cm x 40cm oven trays and a 20cm trifle bowl. You tin make nan custard up of time, moreover nan time before, up to nan constituent erstwhile you adhd nan whipped cream.

Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr
Cool 30 min+
Serves 8

1.2kg forced pinkish rhubarb, topped, tailed and trim connected an perspective into 4cm pieces
200g caster sugar
3 oranges, zest of 1 finely grated, past each 3 juiced, to get 150ml
3 ample ovum yolks
1 tbsp vanilla paste
10g cornflour (1⅓ tbsp)
1 large pinch good oversea salt
120ml full milk
600ml double cream
30 trifle sponge fingers
30g flaked almonds, toasted

Heat nan oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Put nan rhubarb successful an oven tray, adhd 150g sweetener and each nan orangish zest and juice, past toss. Arrange nan rhubarb into a azygous furniture (you whitethorn request a 2nd tray), screen tightly pinch foil and cook for 20 minutes. Carefully assistance disconnected nan foil and cheque nan rhubarb pinch nan extremity of a crisp knife: nan rhubarb shouldn’t defy nan weapon astatine all, but it should support its shape. If not, screen and cook again, checking for doneness each 5 minutes.

Once nan rhubarb is cooked, return nan tray retired of nan oven and time off to cool. After astir half an hour, erstwhile it has cooled, drain disconnected nan liquid into a jug and group aside. Store some nan rhubarb and juice separately, covered, successful nan fridge.

In nan meantime, make nan custard. Mix nan ovum yolks, vanilla paste, cornflour, nan remaining 50g sweetener and brackish successful a mean to ample heatproof bowl. In a saucepan, power nan beverage and 240ml of nan cream, stirring regularly until mini bubbles commencement to appear. Very slowly, move this into nan ovum yolk operation successful nan heatproof bowl, whisking each nan time. When decently mixed in, move nan batch backmost into nan pan, and power connected a debased to mean heat, whisking each nan while, until nan custard thickens. Take disconnected nan power and move into a heatproof bowl; screen nan aboveground of nan custard pinch a circle of nonstick baking paper, to forestall a tegument from forming, and time off to cool completely.

Whisk nan remaining 360ml pick to soft peaks, fold 120g of it into nan cooled custard, past transportation to a container, screen and chill until needed.

To assemble, battalion 15 sponges tightly successful a azygous furniture connected their sides (rather than connected their backs) successful nan guidelines of nan trifle dish. Drizzle complete astir 150ml of nan rhubarb juice, past adhd half nan rhubarb, followed by half nan custard. Repeat nan layers again (sponge, juice, rhubarb, custard), past decorativeness pinch nan remaining whipped cream. Sprinkle nan toasted almonds connected apical and support successful nan fridge until fresh to serve.