Clementine and chocolate trifle
On the first Friday of the festive season, Leon Ockenden shows us how to make his signature stress-free British classic: clementine and chocolate trifle.
Serves: This is epic and will serve 10-12 hungry troops!
As with all trifles it’s an assembly piece and the layers are best shown off in a big glass trifle bowl.
Ingredients
For the base
8 chocolate chip brioche rolls, sliced in half8 clementines, peeled and segmentedSplash of orange juice for the children or a generous dash of Triple Sec if making a boozy trifle to make your Granny proud!
For the jelly:
Make 1 Pint of orange Jelly, according to the packet instructions and refrigerate so it starts its setting process.
For the custard (or alternatively use a good quality shop bought custard)
900ml full fat milk2 vanilla Pods6 whole eggs4 egg yolks8tsp corn flour100g caster sugar
For the simple chocolate mousse
300g plain chocolate150ml full fat milk450ml double cream, whipped to soft peaks
To serve
300ml double cream, whipped to soft peaks1 zested orangeHandful of toasted flaked almondsWhite and dark chocolate curls
Method
For the base: Assemble the brioche rolls at the bottom of a trifle bowl - reserving two. Soak with a generous dash of orange juice or optional triple sec. Peel and slice the Clementine’s and arrange on top of the brioche base and give it a little squidge down. Scatter the reserved brioche bun on top of the Clementine’s.
For the jelly layer: Once the Jelly has almost set, spoon it on top of your brioche and clementine base. Put back in the fridge and have a nice break for a couple of hours. Once refreshed and revived- get to making the mousse.
For the custard: Heat the milk with the vanilla pods until almost boiling- then discard the pods. Whisk the eggs, sugar and corn flour in a separate bowl and add a third of the milk- whisking all the time. Return the pan to a gentle heat and pour in your egg and milk mix- whisking all the time. Cook for a further 5 minutes or so until its all lovely and gloriously thick. Allow the custard to cool for 10 minutes and then pour your custard over your Clementine’s and brioche and jelly base and then return to the fridge.
I love making custard - but I understand this is the labour of love version and if you want to buy it ready made or use custard powder for that retro school dinner feel, then I won't say if you don't!
For the simple chocolate mousse: Roughly chop the chocolate and melt in a bowl over a pan of water – make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water.
Bring your milk to the boil and whisk into the melted chocolate and set aside to cool.
Gently whip your double cream to soft peaks and gently fold in to your Chocolate mix straight away. Then take the trifle out of the fridge and spread on your choccy mousse layer. Refrigerate. This can now be left over night or for a couple of days if desired.
On the day of serving: Spoon or pipe the cream into the centre of your choccy orange trifle and scatter with the orange zest, flaked almonds and christmas sprinkles