Festive trifle

Serves 6

Preparation time: 1 hour

• 500 ml cream
• 70 g (80ml) castor sugar
• 1 vanilla pod, cut open, seeds scraped out
• 15 ml gelatin
• 50 ml cold water
• 400 g fresh raspberries, blueberries and strawberries
• 250 g meringues
• 1 x 280g madeira cake, sliced
• 125 ml sherry
• 500 ml custard
• 1 L ice cream of your choice

1. Bring the cream, sugar, vanilla seeds and pod to the boil slowly over moderate heat and simmer for a few minutes. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a bowl and leave for a few minutes to soak. Remove the hot cream mixture from the heat and discard the vanilla pod. Stir in the gelatin until it has dissolved. Pour the mixture into the bottom of a pretty glass bowl (that can hold about 2L). Refrigerate until set.

2. Sprinkle half of the raspberries, blueberries and strawberries on top of the cream base. Crumble half the meringues and sprinkle over the berries.

3. Arrange a layer of madeira cake slices on top and pour half the sherry over, followed by the rest of the berries. Pour the custard over, arrange another layer of cake slices on top, followed by the last of the sherry. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve, topped with scoops of ice cream