LouieNep Food

(by Guest Chef Lolita) This recipe brings back fond memories of English school puddings, and the thought of sinking my teeth into the exquisite eggy vanilla-ness of the custard just makes me want to head back to boarding school.

Although traditionally trifles are made from your garden variety English fruit, I like using bananas, not only because I live in the tropics (and the prospect of finding decent cherries or raspberries is a near impossibility), but because their unique banana-creaminess is the perfect complement to the butterscotch and custard. I would suggest making the custard yourself, using the incomparable vanilla bean, but I suppose a packet of “Bird’s Eye” custard should do the trick. This recipe is based on Delia Smith’s Banana and Madeira trifle. Not being mad about madeira, I substituted dark rum.

Also, it should be noted that trifles are really a delicious way to make good use out of leftover cake, custard or fruit, so the amounts of ingredients really depend on what you have around and the size of your serving bowl.

And one more thing, you should plan to make this the day before you want to eat it, or at least 12 hours in advance to get the flavors to develop into what will become an incredibly rich and sinful, mouth-watering trifle bliss.

Banana Butterscotch Rum Trifle
What You Need
A glass bowl
3 medium bananas
Sponge cake - leftover cake or even ladyfingers (for Tiramisu enthusiasts) will do. The amount depends on the bowl you use, as it should cover the base by a few inches.
Whipped cream - about 2 1/2 cups - again, depending on the size of your bowl. - you really have to think in terms of “layers” when making a trifle.
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup pecans

For the Butterscotch Sauce ( you can double the recipe and any leftovers can be used as an impromptu ice cream sauce!):
1/2 cup golden syrup
1/ 4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cream
1 tsp. good vanilla extract
2 tablespoons dark rum

For the Custard
1 packets worth of “Birds Eye Custard” (again, leftovers can be used for pouring on cakes or fruit at another time)
or
1 vanilla pod, cut into 3 pieces
1 1/3 cup whole milk
1 1/3 cup cream
7 egg yolks
1/4 cup white sugar

First make the butterscotch sauce by placing the butter, syrup and sugar in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring now and then until it dissolves. Add the rum, and let it cook until you see that it has all melded together, then add the cream and vanilla slowly. When it is all combined and looks like a good sauce, take it off the heat and set it aside to cool off.

Now make the custard. Put the cream and milk into a saucepan and add the vanilla pod, scraping the seeds out with a knife, then tossing the whole thing in. Simmer this gently to infuse the vanilla flavor. While it simmers, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until it becomes a creamy, pale yellow mass. Now pour the warm milk and cream into the egg yolk mixture, beat for a bit, and return it all into the saucepan. Over low heat, stir the whole lot until it gets creamy, and coats the back of a spoon. This usually takes 10-15 minutes of standing over a hot stove, mindlessly stirring or whisking. Not my favourite part either, but so worth it, I promise! When the custard is thick, take it off the heat , remove the vanilla pods, cover with a towel and set aside.

And now for the fun, assembly bit. Take the cake slices and slice them to form squares of about an inch and a half thick. If you are using ladyfingers, cut them in half. Spread half of the squares with the butterscotch sauce , then “sandwich” them by placing another cake square on top, do the same if you are using ladyfingers. Now arrange the squares nicely to fit the bottom of your glass bowl. Poke the cake with a few stabs of a fork, and drizzle the rest of the rum. If you can’t be bothered with the sandwiching process, or have leftover cake that can’t be cut into squares, just line the bowl with it as best you can, stabbing a bit with a fork and drizzling the rum, then pouring about half of the butterscotch sauce on top. Peel and slice the bananas into 1/4 inch chunks, and arrange it into the bowl. Pour the rest of the butterscotch sauce in, then the custard on top. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 12- 24 hours.

About 15 minutes before you want to eat it, toast the pecans in a dry non-stick pan, or in the oven for about 4 minutes. Whip the cream. Take the trifle out of the fridge, and spread the whipped cream on top of the custard. Drizzle with the pecans, and serve!

This entry was posted on Monday, April 26th, 2004 at 7:02 pm and is filed under Comfort Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.