Banoffee Tumbler Trifle

– Frances Quinn

SERVES: 4
PREP TIME: 1 HOUR
COOKING TIME: 20 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CUSTARD:

• 200ml double cream
• 2 egg yolks (at room temperature)
• 20g caster sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

FOR THE CAKES:

• 50g butter, softened
• 50g light muscovado sugar
• 50g very ripe banana flesh (from about ½ medium banana)
• 1 egg (at room temperature)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 50g self-raising flour
• 50g pecans, toasted and chopped

FOR THE CARAMEL:

• 50g golden syrup
• 50g caster sugar
• 100ml double cream
• Pinch of salt (optional)

TO DECORATE:

• 50g hard banana chips
• 50ml dark rum
• 300ml double cream
• 4 small, medium-ripe bananas
• 50g butterscotch chips
• Cocoa powder, to dust

EQUIPMENT:

• 6- or 12-hole muffin tin
• 4 paper muffin cases
• 4 x 35ml glass ‘barrel’ tumbler

METHOD

Buy the best fresh custard you can, or, if you’re making your own custard, pour the cream into a medium saucepan and set over a gentle heat. Bring to just below simmering. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in a medium heatproof bowl. Add the hot cream to the bowl, whisking all the time to combine. Immediately pour the mixture back into the pan. Stir over a gentle heat until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Pour the custard back into the bowl and leave to cool with clingfilm over the top.

Next make the cakes. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Put the four muffin cases into the muffin tin. Using a hand-held electric whisk, beat the butter and sugar together for 5–10 minutes or until the mix is very light and creamy and takes on a pale shade. Put the bananas in a bowl and smush it into a puré. Break the egg into a jug, add the vanilla and beat together with a fork. Gradually add the egg to the creamed butter and sugar mixture. Sift the flour into the mixture and fold it in. Finally, stir in the banana and chopped pecans and divide the mixture into the cases. Bake for 15–20 minutes and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, make the caramel sauce. Weigh the golden syrup into a small saucepan. Sprinkle the caster sugar over the surface of the syrup. Cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Continue to cook gently for about 3 minutes or until the syrup has turned a rich amber colour. Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the double cream. Add the salt if you are creating a salted caramel. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

Once the cakes and caramel have cooled, you can assemble your trifles. Remove the cakes from their cases and crumble them into bite-sized pieces. You will use one cake per tumbler. Put the cake pieces in the base of the tumbler and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon rum.

Whip the cream to soft-to-medium peaks; set aside. Cover the cake in the tumblers with the caramel. Scatter any broken banana chips over the caramel. Cut the fresh bananas into 5mm slices – you will be using one banana per trifle so you might find it easier to work on one trifle at a time. Arrange some of the banana slices around the inside of each tumbler.

Next, cover the bananas with the custard. Keep back a few butterscotch chips to decorate the trifles; scatter the remainder over the custard. Top with the whipped cream. Sift a little cocoa powder over the top and decorate with a dried banana chip and butterscotch pieces.

If you’re short of time, you can use 175g shop-bought dulce de leche and 200ml ready-made custard to layer your trifles. Recipe takenfrom Quinntessential Baking by Frances Quinn, published by Bloomsbury, Hardback £25. Buy it online here.