strawberry trifle flavored with tonka beans

I’ve never made a Trifle before or even has eaten one. So, when I saw this Trifle recipe by Jamie Oliver I knew, this would be the ideal finish for my next summer party. Instead of vanilla sugar or vanilla extract I used a Tonka bean. The Tonka beans tastes like a cross between vanilla, almond and cinnamon and are used particularly in the French kitchen for desserts and in perfumes.

The fresh strawberries with the sparkling Prosecco and topped with pastry cream and the unique flavor of the Tonka bean makes it one of  the most decadent desserts ever.

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Makes 8 servings

For the strawberry jelly:

• 600 g strawberries (plus some more for decoration)
• 4 gelatine leaves
• 2,5 dl Prosecco
• 110 g sugar
• about 14 lady fingers

Place 500 g of the strawberries into a heatproof bowl and cover with a clear film.

Place the bowl over a pan of boiling water and leave to steam for about 30 minutes, or until all the juices have been released.

Then pour the strawberry juice (about 2,5 dl) through a sieve and set aside.

Soak the gelatin leaves into cold water and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat combine the Prosecco, the strawberry juice and the sugar and stir gently until the sugar has dissolved.

Add the gelatin slightly and stir it in the warm sirup and take the pan from the heat and set aside.

Cut the rest of the strawberries in half lengthwise and arrange them on the bottom of the serving glasses.

Lay the lady finger biscuits onto the strawberries then pour the strawberry syrup over the biscuits and let it cool completely but for least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

For the pasty cream:

• 5 dl milk
• 5 egg yolks
• 200 g sugar
• 1 Tonka bean, grated or 1/2 sachet of vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 20 g flour
• 20 g cornstarch

Heat the milk in a pan over low heat and bring the mixture to boil, then remove the milk from heat.

Mix the egg yolks, the sugar, the grated Tonka bean, the flour and the cornstarch in a bowl. Than stir the egg mixture in the hot milk very slowly and set the pan over low heat and bring the mixture to boil until the milk-egg mixture it thickened.

Pour the cream through a sieve into a stainless steel bowl and allow the cream to cool to room temperature, then cover the cream and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Pour the cold cream to the strawberry – biscuit layers in the serving glasses and put it back in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Serving:

• 5 dl heavy cream
• 50 sugar

Beat the heavy cream and the sugar until a stiff peak forms and pour it into the serving glasses and decorate with the remaining strawberries.

ENJOY!