- Serves 6 - Ready in 5 hours 15 minutes (or in 45 minutes if you use shop-bought ginger cake) -
*uses up 9 medium sticks of rhubarb *
Gather together for the Trifle…
9 sticks fresh / frozen rhubarb (approximately 450g) in 6cm lengths. Try to choose very PINK stems for the best colour contrast.
Zest and juice of one orange.
100g white caster / granulated sugar.
1 tsp vanilla extract (the Taylor & Colledge brand is fairtrade certified / the Dr Oetker brand is alcohol free).
2 tbsp water.
1 ginger cake loaf – shop bought 'Jamaican Ginger' cake or see the Ginger Cake recipe below.
1 ginger biscuit (crushed) - I used one of my Ikea-style homemade biscuits, but a 'gingernut' biscuit would also work well.
EITHER (if your mascarpone has a 'high' 43%+ fat content)...
4 tbsp (65g) icing sugar, SIEVED.
500g tub full-fat mascarpone, it must have a fat content of at least 40% (Morrisons and Tesco mascarpone works well) or else it will split and go liquid-y when it is mixed with the icing sugar.
OR (if your mascarpone has a 'lower' i.e. under 43% fat content)...
250g mascarpone cheese.
300ml double cream (MUST be double cream as it needs to whip up, DO NOT use Elmlea).
2 tsp vanilla extract.
4 tbsp (65g) icing sugar.
***If you are making the ginger cake yourself (rather than using a shop-bought cake), make the cake at least 4 ½ hours before you want to assemble the trifle, so the cake has time to cool fully (so it doesn't melt the trifle topping)***
Gather together for the Ginger Cake.... (to then be sliced up in the bottom of the trifle)
170g butter (sliced).
170g soft, dark brown sugar.
115g black treacle.
340g plain flour (sieved).
1 tablespoon ground ginger.
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda.
1 medium egg, beaten.
70ml milk (warmed in microwave on HIGH for 20 seconds).
Get making the Ginger Cake…
1. Preheat the oven to 140 C (120 C fan) or Gas 1.
2. Line a 900g loaf tin (9"x5") with a greaseproof paper liner (you can get reusable loaf tin liners - the Bake-O-Glide one I use is no longer available, but this Toastbags one looks identical. They are a bit fiddly to use (clothes pegs help) and your loaf will come out rather oddly shaped as the excess material folds in on itself - but as this loaf will be cut up and used to line the trifle dish, perfection isn't essential.
3. Into a medium pan, measure out the 170g of butter, the 170g of soft, dark brown sugar and the 115g of black treacle and melt over low heat until just combined. Do not allow it to bubble / boil! Stir well for 30 seconds, but at this point it will appear to be split and grainy - this is fine.
4. Turn off the heat and allow the pan to cool for 10 minutes, so the heat doesn’t scramble the egg when it is added shortly!
5. Into a large bowl, sieve the 340g of plain flour, the 1 tbsp of ground ginger and sieve in the 1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda. Stir to combine these dry ingredients and then make a well in the centre.
6. To the pan of fairly cool buttery-sugary mixture add the beaten egg and stir well. The egg will magically bind the grainy mixture and make it shiny and smooth!
7. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry floury mixture. Also add the 70ml of warm milk. Mix everything together quickly until the cake batter is smooth. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared loaf tin (it is a very runny mixture - this is normal).
8. Bake for 2 hours or until a skewer inserted vertically into the centre comes out clean.
9. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes in the tin.
10. Then remove the cake from the tin and the liner, cool it on a wire rack for 2 HOURS before using it in the trifle.
Get making the Trifle…
1. Slice the 450g (9 sticks) of rhubarb into 6cm lengths.
2. In a wide-based pan (so they cook as evenly as possible) heat up and cook the rhubarb lengths with the zest and juice from 1 orange, the 100g of white caster / granulated sugar, the 1 tsp of vanilla extract and the 2 tbsp of water, until the rhubarb is softened but is still holding its shape. Use a LOW heat. This will take 10 - 15 minutes for FRESH rhubarb, or only about 5 minutes for FROZEN rhubarb. I suggest you lift out the pieces of rhubarb which cook most quickly, using a slotted spoon, so they don't become too soft.
3. Put the cooked rhubarb into a sieve over a medium bowl to catch the syrup and leave the rhubarb to cool for 10 minutes.
4. Slice the ginger cake into 10 slices, then cut each into 3 'fingers' of sponge (giving approximately 30 pieces of cake in total).
5. Arrange the pieces of cake around the base of a large clear serving bowl / trifle bowl (mine is a 'vintage' Ikea GLOTTIS bowl, 21cm in diameter and 10cm deep), paying attention to what they look like from the outside. Ensure the layer of cake is even in depth across the bowl, both at the edges and in the middle. This will prevent the finished trifle from dipping in the middle.
6. Drizzle the cake layer with the warm rhubarb syrup.
7. Artistically place the rhubarb in the trifle bowl, on top of the syrupy cake layer - try and use the most vividly coloured chunks of rhubarb next to the glass edge of the bowl, where they will be seen..
8. Meanwhile, check the fat content of your mascarpone...
8(a). If your mascarpone has a 'high' 43%+ fat content: Into a medium bowl, SIEVE the 4tbsp of icing sugar (otherwise your filling will have unsightly clumps). Add the 500g mascarpone and stir VERY gently for up to 30 seconds. This simple two-ingredient filling ONLY works if your mascarpone has a very high fat content to stabilise the mixture, a lower than 43% fat content will mean the filling quickly becomes runny and leaks out of the cake.
8(b). If your mascarpone has a lower than 43% fat content, add double cream to stabilise it: In a medium bowl, place the 250g mascarpone, the 300ml of double cream and the 2 tsp of vanilla extract and mix with a handheld whisk for about 30 seconds. Sieve in the 4 tbsp of icing sugar and stir until fully mixed, this will take about 1 minute. It will be very runny at this stage - fear not. Then use an electric whisk for 2 - 5 minutes, until firm peaks form.
9. Then spoon the mascarpone-mixture on top of the rhubarb layer, ensuring an even-but-swirly coverage.
10. Sprinkle the crushed ginger biscuit over the top.
11. Keep the trifle in the fridge, covered with a plate / beeswax wrap and eat it up within three days. Enjoy!
The cake recipe was adapted (slightly) from the Traditional Ginger Cake recipe on the allrecipes.com website. The trifle recipe was inspired originally by a Jamie Oliver 'Rhubarb and Ginger Trifle' recipe, which I can no longer find.