Custard

Ingredients

4 egg yolks

75g sugar

200g milk

200g cream

1/2 vanilla pod

Method

1 Whisk egg yolks and sugar together until pale and fluffy

2 Heat milk and vanilla pod (with seeds scraped into the milk) to 50c (hand hot if you don't have a thermometer) then pour on to the egg yolks, whisking all the while.

3 Pour the mixture back into the pan and place over a low heat then either heat to 80c 3 times, stirring constantly or until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

4 Place the saucepan into an ice bath until cool then transfer to the fridge Syllabub Ingredients 200g whipping cream 20g sugar 40g decent sweet sherry such as Pedro Ximines or Moscatel Method 1 Whip ingredients together to soft peaks then refrigerate Almond Sponge Ingredients 100g whole eggs 100g sugar 100g butter 75g ground almonds 25g flour Method 1 Whip eggs and sugar together in a stand mixer until quadrupled in volume. This should take about 15 minutes 2 Melt the butter whilst the eggs are whipping then leave to cool so that it is liquid but not hot.

3 Add the butter to the eggs, pouring in a slow stream into the mixer.

4 Fold in the dry ingredients taking care not to knock any air out of the sponge mix

5 Pour into a parchment-lined baking tin and cook at 140c for approximately one hour. The final cooking time depends on the size of the baking tin and therefore the thickness of the sponge so insert a skewer to check for doneness – it will come away clean if the sponge is ready.

6 Leave the sponge to cool on a rack then store in an airtight container until needed

Toasted almonds

Ingredients

50g flaked almonds

1 egg white

10g icing sugar

Method

1 Blitz the sugar into the egg white with a hand blender then pour onto the almonds

2 Mix well (hands are best even though it is messy) then transfer onto a baking sheet lined with non-stick baking parchment

3 Bake at 150c, stirring every 5 minutes until the almonds are golden brown and crunchy

4 Leave to cool on the tray then store in an airtight container until needed

To assemble

1 Break up the sponge into large pieces and place in the bottom of your trifle dish

2 Sprinkle over some of whatever booze you used in the syllabub, then scatter fresh fruit such as blackberries, raspberries or whatever you fancy over the top of the sponge.

3 Pour the custard on top, then add the cream.

4 Finish with the toasted almonds and serve with a glass of that sherry.