What's the easiest thing to put together when you have a sponge sitting in your fridge? A make ahead, elegant dessert which can feed a crowd as well? A trifel, a trifle, a trifle!!! No fuss, no sweating over slicing the cake neatly, perfect frosting not needed, just assemble however you fancy and chill. And then you sit back and chill.
- 3 x Eggs
- 1/2 cup Castor sugar
- 1/2 cup Flour
- 1 teaspoon Pineapple essence
Method:
- Preheat over to 180 degrees C. Line, grease and dust a Swiss roll tin.
- Beat the eggs, essence and sugar till mousse like (almost 10 minutes).
- Lightly fold the flour in 3 goes in figure 8 movements (so as not to release the air bubbles).
- Gently turn into prepared tray and bake for 10-12 minutes till light brown and spongy.
- If you would be using a regular 9 inch round tin, it will take longer to bake.
- Turn out to cool on a rack, immediately removing the lining. When fully cool, use as needed. If you would be using later, you can store the sponge in the fridge for 2-3 days and in the freezer for longer.
For the Coconut Cream:
- 3/4 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 cup coconut cream, chilled
- 1 1/2 tablespoon icing sugar (to add sweetness to the coconut cream and help stabilize the same when whipped)
Chill the whipping cream for at least 10 hours in the fridge. Chill the beaters and the bowl for 2-3 hours at least. Stainless steel works best. Combine the whipping cream, icing sugar and coconut cream. Place over a large bowl of ice. Whip first on lo for a minute or so and then at medium speed for about 8-10 minutes or till the cream forms soft peaks. Be careful not to over whip. Chill till needed.
More ingredients you will need:
1 Cup simple sugar syrup (1 cup water plus 1-2 tablespoons sugar, more to taste) Add a splash of rum if you like.
1/2 cup chopped pineapple chunks (canned)
1 tablespoon grated fresh coconut.
To assemble:
Cut the sponge horizontally into 2 layers, then cut into small cubes. Take a large transparent bowl (a large tall one works best), place half the cake cubes. Pour some sugar syrup and moisten the cake pieces well. Do not over soak. Spoon a layer of coconut and cream. Put some pineapple chunks and the grated coconut over it. Put the remaining cake cubes, moisten with syrup, spoon the remaining coconut cream. Garnish with coconut. Add some cherries if you like. Chill for at least 5-6n hours.
Scoop out the dessert from the bottom, making sure every serving has two layers of cake and two of cream. Scoop into dessert bowls and dig in!!!
Note: The cream had a hint of coconut, but could have been better with more. You could try whipping equal parts of cream and coconut cream. You could also skip the coconut cream, and use coconut essence and whipped cream. Add rum to the soaking syrup if you like. Use chopped tender coconut instead of grate coconut.
Recipe by: Suma Rowjee
Recipe by: Suma Rowjee
