Strawberry honey and lavender trifles, serendipity in a glass

A couple of weeks ago whilst browsing in TK Maxx I decided to treat myself to a madeleine tin and last weekend I finally got around to attempting to bake with the purchased tin, I researched quite a few recipes and I closely followed the instructions in my chosen recipe carefully buttering and flouring the tin,and deciding to add honey and lavender to the mixture.

Everything turned out fine, well mostly, other than not being able to extricate the madeline's from the tin, the actual sponge was lovely, well flavoured and light. I am not defeated and will try madeline's again but my first attempt left me with a quantity of beautiful sponge cakes that needed using up, so this trifle was born.

This easy fruity delight used the disaster sponges to great effect and ensured no waste, so definitely serendipity in a glass. According to Mr LF a trifle is not a trifle unless it contains jelly, I think this must be a hark back to his child hood so this one does contain a fruit jelly layer, but its optional.

What you need

• Quantity of sponge cake - crumbled (mine was flavoured with 1 tbsp honey and 1 teaspoon of edible lavender flowers)
• Splash of sherry or some other suitable alcoholic beverage (mead would be good too), if for children you could use fruit juice
• Strawberry jelly - cubes, crystals or made from juice and gelatine, I used sparkling fruit juice drink to give the jelly sparkle
• Chopped fresh strawberries
• Thick custard - homemade or custard pot
• Creme fraiche or whipped cream 
• Fresh fruit or sprinkles to decorate
• Small quantity of edible lavender flowers for decoration

What you do

• Take 4 glass tumblers and crumble the sponge cake into the bottom of the glass, splash with alcohol of your choice
• Top with a small quantity of chopped strawberries
• Mix up your jelly according to the instructions on the packet, I also make a stronger solution so I know it going to set well and pour into the glass about a third of the way up the glass.
• Place in the fridge to set fully
• One set top with custard and cream layers
• Chill again and then serve topped with a sliced strawberry and strewn with lavender flowers.

Mr LF ate 2 in one sitting, so I am taking that as a recommendation that they are good. Plenty of traditional trifle flavour but with a hint of honey and lavender.

If you fancy having a go at the madeline's (you may have better success than me) then this is the recipe I used and tweaked by adding lavender instead of vanilla.

I am linking up to Credit Crunch Munch which I feel is totally appropriate as Iam using my rejects as the basis of a new recipe. Jointly run by Fab Food for All and Fuss Free Flavours

And to No Waste Food Challenge over at Elizabeths Kitchen 

And lastly recipe of the week over A Mummy Too

Blackcurrant Trifle

Now that I've got attention ! An easy seasonal dessert loved by all, we are lucky enough that we have a blackcurrant bush in the garden and its been laden this summer with a bumper crop of dark juicy berries. Lucky for us the birds seemed to have bypassed the bush and instead snaffled my small crop of redcurrants that grow nearby. 

This is a recipe where you can go the whole hog and be very chefy making your own sponge and custard from first principles or use a few sneaky cheats, on a hot summer's day I opted for the cheats version.

First we are going to make a blackcurrant compote, this works with any soft fruit by the way in case you were wondering. Take you fruit and half the quantity by weight in caster sugar and warm gently in a saucepan until the sugar has melted and the juices are starting to run from the fruit. Taste for sweetness if necessary add a little more sugar. Fruit compotes store well in a covered dish in the fridge and are great in cakes (see blackcurrant and cassis cake post for clandestine cake club), swirled over yoghurt or with a pannacotta. Chill your compote before making your trifle.

What you will need

• Blackcurrant compote
• Cake sponge (homemade if you wish) or sponge fingers (boudoir / langue de chat) for the cheat
• Custard (homemade if you wish, or custard powder or ready made) ideally thick
• Cream ( whipping or double cream) for garnish - whipped to soft peak stage
• Booze - sherry, cassis, etc (optional) I didn't use

What you do

• Locate your nice glasses that will show of this lovely dessert in all its glory
• Carefully spoon a layer of compote into the glass
• Then layer broken up sponge pieces and custard
• Another layer of blackcurrant compote, keep layering until you are nearly at the top of the glass, finish with custard.
• Now finish the trifle with a sexy dollop of cream and a few reserved berries.