This trifle is a riff on the classic peach melba combination of peaches, raspberries and vanilla ice cream that I just adore! It makes the most of summer fruits and puts them on a pedestal at your Christmas celebration. The layers of jelly, soft billowy whipped custard and crushed amaretti are a texture explosion! Just don’t skip the vanilla bean in the custard – it is a special occasion, after all!

Melba Trifle with Amaretti Biscuits

Serving Size:
Serves 4-6
Time:
1 hour
Difficulty:
Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 x 80g raspberry jelly mix
  • 250ml pouring cream
  • 250ml double cream
  • 1 x The Kate Tin Gourmet vanilla bean
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 80g castor sugar
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • 125g + 200g raspberries, plus extra to garnish
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 750ml whipping cream
  • 3 ripe peaches
  • 250g amaretti biscuits

Directions

  1. Prepare the raspberry jelly according to package instructions and pour it in a 2l trifle dish. Refrigerate to set.
  2. Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds and place in a medium pot along with the bean and the creams. Place over medium heat and heat to a gentle simmer. Place the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a bowl and whisk to combine. Gradually whisk in the hot cream mixture until combined. Return the mixture to the saucepan and stir over low heat for 2–3 minutes or until thickened and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Set aside to cool, cover and refrigerate until needed. 
  3. Combine the 125g raspberries, icing sugar and lemon juice together and blend until smooth. Pass through a sieve and set aside.
  4. When ready to assemble, use an electric mixer to whisk the whipping cream to soft peaks. Halve, pit and slice the peaches.
  5. To assemble: Remove the set jelly in the trifle dish from the fridge, top it with the raspberry sauce and evenly spread over the jelly. Top with ⅔ of the amaretti biscuits, pressing them against the edge of the dish so they form a row. Fill the centre with the rest of the amaretti – you can crush them with your hands if you like. Layer half the whipped custard over the amaretti. Halve the remaining 200g raspberries and place them in a row, cut-side pressed against the glass. Scatter the rest of the raspberries and half the peaches in the centre. Finish off with the rest of the whipped custard, sliced peaches, the rest of the amaretti and a few raspberries. Finish with a few mint sprigs and serve immediately.