Donal's black forest trifle
Two classics meet in Donal's spectacular Christmas party pudding - black forest trifle!
It's ideal if you're short of time, just use shop-bought brownies, a carton of ready made custard and a couple of posh jars of cherries in kirsch for this show stopping pudding.
Black forest brownie trifle
Serves 10
Ingredients
For the brownies (or buy 250g shop-bought brownies)
225g dark chocolate, broken into squares
225g butter
300g caster sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
For the chocolate custard (or buy 600ml fresh custard)
600ml cream
140g caster sugar
4 egg yolks
½ tsp vanilla extract
200g dark chocolate, broken into squares
For the cherry syrup
3 x 400g can black cherries in syrup
2502 tbsp kirsch or brandy
For the cream topping:
300ml cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp sifted icing sugar
200ml tub crème fraîche
For the decoration
Handful edible gold stars
Good sprinkling edible gold sprinkles
100g dark chocolate, in large thick shavings
100g white chocolate, in large thick shavings
100g fresh cherries (optional)
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. To make the brownies, line a 22 x 30cm baking tin with baking parchment. Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir constantly until melted and smooth.
2. With a hand-held electric mixer, whisk the sugar and eggs together for 2-3 minutes until pale and fluffy. Slowly add the melted chocolate and butter then add the vanilla extract and continue to whisk until thickened.
3. Lastly, sift in the flour and baking powder and fold in gently. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the middle shelf of the oven for 25 minutes until the top is firm and the cake has come away slightly from the sides of the tin. Leave to cool.
4. To make the chocolate custard, pour the cream into a saucepan and bring tothe boil. Beat together the sugar, egg yolks and vanilla extract in a bowl. Pour over 2 tbsp of the cream into the egg yolk mixture, whisking to combine, then add back into the rest of the cream. Lower the heat and cook for a few minutes, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until the custard coats the back of a spoon.
5. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in the microwave on high for 1 minute or do it in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Remove the thickened custard from the heat and stir in the melted chocolate. Cover with cling film and leave to cool. If using ready made custard, heat the custard gently in a pan, then stir in the melted chocolate before leaving to cool/.
6. To make the cherry sauce, drain the cherries, reserving the liquid, then set aside. Place the liquid in a pan with the kirsch or brandy and simmer for about 5 minutes or until syrupy – it should be about 100ml in total. Stir in the cherries and leave to cool.
7. Cut the brownies into small squares and use to cover the base of a trifle bowl. Spoon over the cherries along with their syrup. Spoon over the chocolate custard, then cover with cling film and chill while you finish making the topping.
8. Lightly whip the cream with the vanilla extract and icing sugar until soft peaks form, then gently fold in the crème fraiche. Cover with cling film and chill until you are ready to assemble. To serve, pile large dollops of the cream mixture on top of the custard and decorate with the gold stars, sprinkles, chocolate shavings and some fresh cherries, if you like.