What better way to celebrate the summer solstice (and Christmas!) than with a boozy trifle using seasonal stone fruits and berries. The cake is a madeira style cake using our Rosella Wholewheat Flour, but our spelt would also work nicely.
I was taught by my Mum that trifles are about using up leftovers and what you have on hand. So feel free to use whatever berries you have available (fresh or frozen) and nectarines or apricots if there's a surplus where you are. You could also omit the Marsala for fruit juice or a different type of fortified wine if you wish.
The cake should be made the day before you plan to serve the trifle.
INGREDIENTS
Cake
- 225g butter, softened
- 240g raw sugar
- 3 tsp orange rind, finely grated
- 1 tsp lemon rind, finely grated
- 3 eggs
- 1 2/3 cup Rosella wholewheat flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tsp baking powder
Roast Peaches
- 6 ripe peaches, cut in half, stones removed
- 80g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- Juice of one orange
Strawberry Jam
- 350g strawberries, roughly chopped
- 100g brown sugar
- ½ lemon, juiced
Ricotta Cream
- 375g ricotta (firm or smooth)
- 100g caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons Marsala
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 560g pure cream
Trifle
- 1/3 cup Marsala
- 40g almonds, toasted, and roughly chopped
Method
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a round cake tin with baking paper.
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Use an electric mixer to beat butter, sugar, orange rind and lemon rind until light and fluffy. Gradually add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Fold in the flour, baking powder and milk until just combined.
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Spoon mixture into cake tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes and then turn onto a wire rack.
Peaches:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a roasting tray with baking paper.
- Place the peaches cut side up on the tray and drizzle with the orange juice.
- Mix the sugar and vanilla essence together in a small bowl and then sprinkle over the peaches.
- Roast for 35 minutes, turning the peaches over halfway through.
Jam:
- To make jam, combine berries, sugar and juice in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring, over a medium heat for 8–10 minutes or until thickened. Transfer to a small bowl and allow to cool completely.
Ricotta Cream:
- Combine ricotta, sugar, Marsala, lemon zest and vanilla essence in a large bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. In an electric mixer, whip cream to soft peaks, then gently fold into ricotta mixture.
Trifle:
- Tear up the cake into medium size chunks and drizzle with the 1/3 cup of Marsala
- In a trifle dish, spoon a layer of the ricotta cream onto the base. Top with a third of the cake followed by a third of the peaches, strawberry jam and almonds. Repeat twice more with 1/4 of the ricotta cream, the cake, peaches, strawberry jam and almonds. Finish with a big dollop of the remaining ricotta cream. Drizzle the peach juice from the roasting tray over the trifle.
- You can place in the refrigerator for an hour before serving. Enjoy!