Recreating a memory.

We had a family lunch yesterday and I decided that I needed to make my late grandmothers trifle. When I say needed I mean that in the literal sense. This trifle was the dessert I would request for my birthday every year and looked forward to at Christmas and other special occasions. Sadly, it has been many years now that I have not had the pleasure of my beloved granny or her trifle. It needed to be made.

Luckily I remember the recipe pretty well and aside from a slight deviation with the custard recipe, which I made in the traditional manor rather than hers, it was pretty damned spot on.

If there is one word to describe this trifle it is ‘light’ – the colour, the texture, the taste - is light. It’s not too sweet and not too rich and the perfect way of ending off a special meal.

In the recipe below I have not added a recipe for custard as I have decided that I need to spend a little time with the topic, as we had differing opinions around the table on how to tackle home-made custard. I feel it deserves further research and experimentation before I give you my opinion and tested recipes.

Pear and Walnut Trifle

Serves 4

8 boudoir biscuits

40 ml of Smooth apricot jam

80ml of semi sweet white or rose wine (if you don’t have just sweeten some dry white or rose a little)

1 tin of pears in syrup

50g walnuts, roughly chopped

2 cups of vanilla custard – bought or home made

125ml of fresh cream, lightly whipped

1 tsp of castor sugar

Decide if you want to serve the trifle in individual portions or a single bowl. Spread a little apricot jam on the boudoir biscuits and place them at the base of the bowl. Mix the wine with a little of the syrup from the pears about 2/3 wine to 1/3 pear syrup. Spoon the wine over the boudoir biscuits and allow the mixture to be absorbed into the biscuits. Pour the custard over the soaked biscuits. Slice the pears over the custard and distribute evenly. Sprinkle half the roughly chopped walnuts over the pears. Allow this to cool in the fridge until just before serving. Top with the whipped cream (not too stiff sweetened with the castor sugar) and sprinkle the remaining nuts on top.

If you are increasing the recipe for more people, carry on layering the biscuits and custard but keep the cream only for topping.

If making your own custard try this link for a good recipe - http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/81/traditional+vanilla+custard