Recipe | Peach & moscato trifle

I spent Christmas in the UK once and had trifle for the first time. Now every year I make my own for the holiday. I can’t go to a Christmas gathering with my friends without bringing a trifle – they all expect one!

I always do something different. I’ve made trifle inspired by pineapple cakes and a Milo Black Forest one, but this peach and moscato trifle (inspired by  Peach Melba) is one of my favourites. 

Peach Melba is an old-school dessert that I think is due a resurgence. It’s a combination of peaches and raspberry sauce with vanilla ice-cream, first made by Escoffier at the Savoy Hotel in London for the Australian soprano Nellie Melba in the 1890s.

I don’t enjoy eating raspberries because the seeds always get stuck in my teeth, so my trifle version uses yuzu instead, which adds a similar tangy burst. Since peaches are right in season during Christmas in Australia, this is perfect for the holidays.

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Serves 12—15

Ingredients

Sponge cake

unsalted butter, or oil spray, for greasing

300 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting

8 g (1¾ teaspoons) baking powder, sifted

5 g (¾ teaspoon) fine salt

6 eggs, separated

225 g (8 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

5 g (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract

100 g (3½ oz) milk, at room temperature

Poached peaches

150 g (5½ oz) caster (superfine) sugar

1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped

1 strip of lemon peel

4 fresh yellow peaches, pitted and cut into quarters

200 g (7 oz) moscato

Vanilla mascarpone cream

300 g (1¼ cups) mascarpone

300 g (10½ oz) thickened (whipping) cream

5 g (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract

Yuzu curd

175 g (6 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

150 g (5½ oz) unsalted butter, diced

3 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk

75 g (2½ oz) yuzu juice

finely grated zest of 2 lemons, plus 75 g (2½ oz) lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)

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Method

1.  Make the sponge cake: Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a 23 cm (9 inch) diameter cake tin and dust it with flour. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. 

2.  Whisk the egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium speed until frothy. Gradually add the sugar, increase the speed to high, and whisk until stiff peaks form. Add egg yolks one at a time, whisking until each yolk is just mixed through before adding the next.  

3. With a spatula, fold in the vanilla extract and half the milk, then fold in half the flour mixture. Fold in the remaining milk, then fold in the remaining flour mixture.

4.  Pour the batter into the cake tin, and bake until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean, about 40–45 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

5. Make the poached peaches: Pour 500 g (2 cups) water into a saucepan, then add the sugar, vanilla pod and seeds and lemon peel and bring to the boil.

6.  Reduce to a low simmer, then drop in the peaches and gently poach until just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature. 

7.  Add the moscato and leave the peaches to absorb the flavour for about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid for the moscato jelly. 

8. Make the moscato jelly: Make a moscato jelly by following the Champagne Jelly recipe on page 53, replacing the Champagne with 500 g (2 cups) reserved peach poaching liquid.

9.  Make the vanilla mascarpone cream: Add the mascarpone, cream and vanilla to a large bowl and whip to stiff peaks with a hand mixer. This should take about 4–5 minutes.

10.  Make the yuzu curd: Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Place a sieve over a saucepan, then with the back of a spoon, pass the whisked ingredients through the sieve to remove any lumps.

11.  Place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring, until the curd thickens. To test if the curd is thick enough, coat the back of the spoon with the mixture and use your finger to draw a line down the middle. If the line stays, the curd is ready. Remove from the heat and cool.

12.  Assemble the trifle: Trim the top of the cake flat with a serrated knife, then cut the cake horizontally into three even layers about 4 cm (1½ inch) thick. 

13.  I assemble my trifle like a layer cake. Spoon a little vanilla mascarpone cream
into a trifle bowl. Take one cake round and cut it into a shape big enough to fit the base. Place it in, then generously spread some yuzu curd on top. Top with more mascarpone cream, arrange half the peach pieces on top, then spread with some more mascarpone cream. Top this with cake, curd and cream, followed by the last cake. Now scoop in a layer or two of jelly and cream, followed by the remaining peaches.

14.  Cover the trifle with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge overnight to let it set and allow the flavours to marry. This trifle is best enjoyed cold from the fridge, and should be eaten within 3 days.

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