A favourite of Lord Braybrooke.

The secret to a good trifle

is to make it look fabulous

and not to skimp on the alcohol.

For this recipe, you will need:

Leftover sponge cake.

Sponge biscuits.

Brandy.

Jam.

Sherry.

Crystalized ginger.

Custard.

Almonds.

Whipping cream.

Caster sugar.

And for the decoration,

almonds,

angelica,

and edible flowers.

Cut your sponge into slices.

This is an excellent recipe

for using up left over sponge cake.

This is a fatless sponge.

And it's crust has an extra crunch

because when I made it

I lined the tin with butter

and then sprinkled it with fine sugar.

It makes it an excellent cake for using in trifle.

Line a glass bowl

with the sponge cake

and than pour on the brandy.

Now spread on some jam.

Any flavour will do

this is the housekeeper

Mrs Warwick's finest strawberry jam.

She made it last year

it is very good.

Once you've chopped your crystallised ginger,

or fruit, layer it on evenly

and then add biscuits.

These are sponge biscuits,

but you could use macaroons

or ratafia biscuits.

make a nice layer of these

and then pour on the sherry.

Leave it to soak for ten to fifteen minutes.

Next if you haven't already,

make some custard.

Add two sheets of gelatine,

or two tablespoons of corn flour

to make it set properly.

I'm then going to add some almonds

to make it even thicker

Then layer it on to your trifle.

There are many, many different recipes for trifle.

Some that are easy that contain packet custard

and tinned fruit

the not very good ones.

And others, like this,

for the carefully put together.

Next start whipping your cream.

Once you've whisked the cream

add in a little sugar then you can pipe it.

Building it up layer by layer

until you've got quite a lot of height.

And there you are.

Now it's ready for decoration.

for the decorationsI have used a variety of

candied fruit and candied edible flowers.

Be very careful when choosing flowers

to decorate dishes such as this

you must make sure they're edible.

So here we have some wild violets,

and we have some cowslips.

I've also put on some

angelica and some candied ginger.

The candied flowers are

primulas,

primroses,

and here the very last

candied pansy.

And there we are.

Trifle as eaten at Audley End House.