Sloe Gin Jelly and Macaron Trifle Recipe

This luxury trifle features colourful macarons and fruity sloe gin for a really festive treat of a pudding. Trifle is a classic pud that everyone loves - there's something for all tastes in it, from creamy custard, to soft sponge layers, but in this case the macarons have taken their place.

Use fresh fruit to decorate this dessert - it's a really nice winter pud for a dinner party or even works well on Christmas. You'll be able to find berries like raspberries and strawberries (if you choose to swap them), in supermarkets year-round.

Sloe gin is so lovely and sweet and you can even make your own at home. We've got a really easy sloe gin recipe you can try at home. If you can make it ahead when sloes are in season, then it will be ready to use in time to make your Christmas trifle.

Remember when making a trifle that the quantities will vary, depending on the size of your dish. The one we used for this recipe has a volume of 2.5 litres, so if you are using a smaller dish, you may need to scale the ingredients down - same goes if you are using a bigger dish for a bigger crowd.

HOW TO MAKE SLOE GIN JELLY AND MACARON TRIFLE

Ingredients

• 5 gelatine leaves
• 400ml red grape juice
• 400ml sloe gin
• 12-14 macarons
• 2 ripe mangoes, chopped
• 150ml double cream
• 2tsp vanilla bean paste
• 350g raspberries
• Edible glitter, to decorate

For the custard:

• 6 egg yolks
• 50g caster sugar
• 2tsp cornflour
• 600ml double cream

Method

1. First make the jelly. Soak the gelatine in cold water until softened. Gently heat the grape juice and sloe gin. Add the gelatine and stir until dissolved, then let it cool slightly before pouring into your serving dish. Allow it to set in the fridge.

2. Now make the custard. Mix the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together. Heat the cream then mix it into the egg mixture, return it to the pan and cook gently, stirring until thickened. Pour into a jug and allow to cool but not to set solid. Once the jelly has set, pour the custard over and return to the fridge to set.

3. To complete, put the macarons around the edge of the dish. Fill the centre with mango. Lightly whip the cream and vanilla and spoon over the mango. Cover the surface with raspberries and sprinkle over the glitter. It will keep for 24 hours in the fridge.