isithalal.food · Recipes

Trifle without sherry

A classic layered trifle of madeira cake, summer fruit, a jelly set with Halal-certified gelatine, thick custard and cream, with fruit juice instead of sherry or cassis.

British · Dessert · Moderate · 1 large trifle bowl, 10 servings · 60 min

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

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Why Halal checks matter here

Trifle jelly is set with gelatine, which can be pork, the sponge is usually soaked in sherry or a liqueur, and shop cake and vanilla extract need their own checks.

Halal-critical ingredients

• Leaf gelatine: Gelatine can be pork, beef or fish, packs don't always say which, and the jelly uses nine sheets. Use leaf gelatine with a Halal certificate, beef or fish. See Gelatin.
• Sherry or cassis: The original soaks the sponge in 4 tbsp of sherry or cassis, both alcoholic drinks. Use more of the fruit juice, as here.
• Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract is made with alcohol, and scholars differ on using it. Follow your school, or use an alcohol-free vanilla. See Vanilla extract.
• Madeira cake: Shop cakes can contain emulsifiers such as E471, which can come from animal fat. Read the pack, or bake your own sponge. See Cakes and E471.

Ingredients

Fruit jelly

• 750 g (1 lb 10 oz) frozen summer fruit (raspberries, blackberries, red and blackcurrants)
• 200 g (1 cup) caster sugar
• 1 litre (4¼ cups) water
• 9 sheets (9 sheets) Halal-certified beef or fish leaf gelatine

Custard and sponge

• 75 g (⅔ cup) custard powder
• 1.2 litres (5 cups) milk
• 50 g (¼ cup) caster sugar
• 1½–2 (1½–2) madeira cakes, cubed (read the pack)
• 4 tbsp (4 tbsp) extra fruit juice from the pan, in place of the sherry or cassis

Topping

• 300–450 ml (1¼–1¾ cups) double cream
• 1 tsp (1 tsp) vanilla extract, or an alcohol-free vanilla (see the vanilla check below)
• 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) icing sugar
• 2 (2) amaretti biscuits, crushed

Method

1. Cook the fruit. Put the fruit, 200 g sugar and 1 litre of water in a pan and bring to a gentle simmer. After 2 minutes, scoop out 6 tbsp of fruit and 150 ml of juice, plus another 4 tbsp of juice to use instead of the sherry. Cook the rest for 5 minutes more.
2. Make the jelly. Soak the Halal gelatine sheets in cold water. Blend or mash the cooked fruit, then push it through a sieve into a bowl so only skins and seeds are left. Squeeze the gelatine, stir it into the hot strained syrup until dissolved, cool, then chill until it is on the point of setting.
3. Make the custard. Make a really thick custard with the custard powder, milk and 50 g sugar as the pack says. Cover the surface with baking paper while it cools a little.
4. Layer the sponge and custard. Pile the cubed cake into a trifle bowl and spoon over the reserved fruit, the 150 ml of juice and the extra 4 tbsp of juice. Pour over a thick layer of custard, pushing it to the sides to seal the cake, and leave to cool and set with a skin.
5. Add the jelly and cream. When the custard is cold and the jelly nearly set, spoon the jelly over the custard and chill until firm. Whip the cream with the vanilla and icing sugar until it just holds its shape, spoon it over the jelly, scatter with the amaretti and chill until serving.

Allergens

milk (custard, cream), gluten (madeira cake, amaretti), egg (madeira cake), nuts (amaretti may contain almonds)

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Classic trifle' (summer fruit simmered with sugar and water, some fruit and juice reserved, the rest strained and set with 9 sheets of leaf gelatine; thick custard from custard powder and milk; madeira cake soaked with the reserved juice and 4 tbsp sherry or cassis; layered with the custard and jelly and topped with whipped cream, vanilla, icing sugar and amaretti). We specified Halal-certified beef or fish gelatine, replaced the sherry or cassis with more of the fruit juice, and flagged the cake and vanilla. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test; the source gives no setting time, so allow for the custard and jelly to chill and set.

Photograph from our ingredient library: a gelatin dessert, not the finished dish.