Clementine and Ginger Cake Trifle

This recipe was commissioned by The Trustees of Borough Market. Recipe, styling and photography by me: http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/recipes/clementine-gingerbread-trifle 

A real show stopper- this will go down a treat on Christmas day!

 For any Christmas pudding haters out there, this trifle is a nice alternative and, with its flavours of clementine and ginger, still feels just as festive and celebratory. I’ve used the delicious ginger cake from Bread Ahead Bakery and beautiful cinnamon honey from Field and Flower, which makes this recipe really very easy. I’ve chosen to prepare it in one huge trifle dish to make it a great centre piece for any party, but it works in individual glasses just as well. Top it with whatever you like - crushed ginger biscuits and crystallised ginger works well - and for a bit of colour and pizazz, you can bejewel it with glistening pomegranate seeds and red currants.

For one large trifle, serving 10 people:

Ingredients

500g Ginger cake

4 tbsp Sherry

8 Clementines

750ml Orange juice (about 8 oranges)

8 Gelatine leaves

500g Mascarpone

500g Greek yogurt

Cinnamon honey

Zest of one orange

250g Double cream

Handful of pomegranate seeds for decoration

Handful of ginger biscuits, crushed

Handful crystallised ginger, chopped

Method

1. Start off by making your orange jelly. Heat the orange juice in a pan until nearly boiling. Soak the gelatine in cold water and leave for 5 minutes until softened. Take the pan off the heat, squeeze out the water from your gelatine and stir it into the heated orange juice. Leave the mixture to cool a little.
2. Meanwhile cut the ginger cake into 2cm cubes. Place at bottom of your trifle dish and press down a bit to ensure it’s nice and snug. Drizzle the sherry over the cake.
3. Peel the clementines, removing as much of the white pith as you can whilst keeping the fruit whole. Slice 1cm slices across the fruit to give you disks of clementine. Lay the slices on top of your ginger cake base. Try to make sure that there is no sponge visible, as the fruit will act as a barrier to prevent the jelly mixture from just soaking straight into the sponge. Place some slices upright against the glass to create a fantastic retro look.
4. Carefully pour the jelly over your ginger cake and fruit. If you find that the clementines start floating out of place, pour in just a little of the jelly to start with, and allow that to set in the fridge, before pouring in the rest. This will ensure that your beautifully arranged clementines stay in place. Leave in the fridge until the jelly is set (usually about 5 hours).
5. When the jelly is set, beat together the mascarpone and Greek yogurt until smooth and add cinnamon honey and orange zest to taste.  Chill again until this has solidified slightly.

If you feel you want to give your trifle a bit more height (and this is optional depending on how full your trifle bowl is at this point!), whip the double cream to soft peaks and spoon on top of your trifle. Chill until serving time, when you can sprinkle with your chosen toppings - in this instance crushed ginger biscuits, crystallised ginger and pomegranate seeds.

This recipe was commissioned by The Trustees of Borough Market. Recipe, styling and photography by msyelf.