Caramel & Pear Trifle

My grandma used to make a mean trifle every Christmas, it was the best! Sadly I never managed to get a recipe for it. I have always wanted to try making trifle, it really is a dish that you can let your imagination run wild with. I have included a few ideas below. This is my first attempt at making one, not the prettiest, but tasted divine and was devoured quickly.

I made each component of the trifle ahead of time, cookies and cake a few days before, caramel and custard the day before. Assemble a few hours before serving. I used a 20cm trifle bowl.

I used 5 elements for this trifle:
Christmas Tree Cookies, you can find the recipe for them here.
Custard, I used the custard recipe from the basic cookbook.
Caramel, recipe below.
Sponge cake, recipe below.
Pears, fresh or tinned (I used tinned pear).

Caramel
300g brown sugar
300g thickened cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g butter
Pinch of salt

Place all the ingredients into the Thermomix bowl. Cook on Varoma Temperature for 12 minutes speed 3 leaving the mc (measuring cup) off.
Transfer into a small bowl and set aside in the fridge until ready to use.

Sponge cake
120g white sugar
4 extra large eggs at room temperature
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
120g self-raising flour

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.
Spray a 20 cm pan with non-stick spray and line with baking paper.

Insert butterfly. Put the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla into Thermomix bowl. Mix for 10 minutes on speed 4.

Keep mixing on speed 3 and slowly add the flour through the lid.

Add flour through the lid while mixing on speed 3.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave the cake in the oven to cool with the door slightly ajar.

Once completely cooled, remove from cake pan. Place into a cake container or wrap in glad wrap until ready to use.

To Assemble
Pour a layer of cooled custard into trifle bowl and smooth to level.

Place pear, sliced thinly in a layer on top of the custard

Top pear with some of the caramel.

Then place the cake on top of the caramel. If necessary, slightly trim the edges cake of the cake to fit.

Using a knife, carefully put it between the the glass and cake and slide a Christmas tree cookie into the gap.

Put another layer of sliced pears over the top of the cake, top with caramel, then custard. Finish off with a layer of pears decoratively placed on top. Sprinkle with carob powder to garnish. Store in fridge until ready to serve.

Variations:
Tiramisu Trifle; two sponge layers soaked in decafe with a mascapone and cream filling in between.

Add a failsafe jelly layer into your trifle, recipe for jelly here.

Carob and/or white chocolate trifle. Make carob cake with layers of cream and nestle white chocolate.

Use cheesecake mixture as a filling between layers using Philly cheese.

If Gluten free, make your favourite GF cake to use in your trifle.

You can also use marshmallows, honeycomb, cashews, caramelised pears, carob chips and nestle white melts. If you are after an adult version, I am sure that some Whiskey Cream Liqueur can be added in somewhere too!

I am sure you can come up with more variations too.