When we moved into our flat, my flatmate and I both brought along various bits and bobs we’d accumulated in our previous places. One of the more unusual things my flatmate brought was a pack of Hartley’s pineapple jelly squares. Nothing too unusual about that you might think, but these had a best-before date of December 2006, making them about over four years past their prime. I’m usually a bit of a stickler for best-before dates, but the thought of using the jelly in a trifle won me around.
For my birthday last year my flatmate made me a birthday cake in the shape of a castle, and there was some left over sponge that got stored in the freezer. So, I pulled it out, acquired some sponge fingers and set about assembling a trifle.
I don’t drink, but usually don’t mind a bit of sherry in a trifle. We don’t have any sherry, and as it was, I forgot to sprinkle the sponge with an alcoholic substitute, so in went chunks of sponge, with wall of sponge fingers around the edge (unfortunately, I ate too many of them straight from the packet, leaving a bit of a gap). The jelly got poured over, and immeadiately some of the sponge fingers toppled. After the jelly had set, I made up some home made vanilla custard with single cream, and poured that on top, followed by a layer of raspberries topped with some whipped double cream and flaked almonds.
You can probably make out in the photo that the layer of custard is quite thick. It’s easy to explain: I love custard. But I’d probably have to admit that it’s a bit too deep for a trifle, and I ought to have whipped the cream a bit more stiffly – it all collapsed when I took a spoon full out. Perhaps best call it a trifle mess? The jelly also got soaked into the sponge, leaving little ‘pure’ jelly bits, and it didn’t really taste like pineapple (although whether that’s inherent in packet jelly cubes, or a result of being four years past its best before date, I’m not sure).
But at the end of the day, all that aside: cream + custard + sponge + fruit = lovely. And judging by the amount left, it ought to last well into the next week.
The Kitchen Bar 