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 & Pear Trifle

Trifles make the best desserts for our hot Aussie summer Christmas. Layers of deliciousness, love and nostalgia.

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Course Dessert

Servings 6

Equipment

• Thermomix

Ingredients

  

Caramel

• 300 g brown Sugar
• 300 g thickened cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150 g butter
• pinch of salt

Sponge cake

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

Christmas Tree Cookies

• You can find the recipe for them here.

Custard

• I used the custard recipe from the basic cookbook / cookidoo.

Pears

• Fresh or tinned (I used tinned pear).

Instructions

 

Caramel

• Place all the ingredients into the Thermomix bowl.
• Cook for 12 minutes on Varoma Temperature, 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

• Preheat the oven to 170 °. 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.
• 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 mascarpone 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.

Keyword Christmas, Dessert, Entertaining, Failsafe, Thermomix