The last Bank Holiday Monday of the year is almost upon us – and this classic Sherry Trifle is begging to be bought out of retirement and given pride of place at the final bank holiday party buffet of 2026.
If you want to go all-out retro, top your trifle with glacé cherries or multi-coloured ‘hundreds and thousands’ instead of grated chocolate – or, if you want to maintain a modicum of decorum, opt for toasted flaked almonds instead. Meanwhile, if you’d prefer to skip the sherry, substitute it with 200ml orange juice.
Ingredients (serves 10)
300g madeira cake
100g seedless raspberry jam
300g fresh or frozen raspberries (no need to defrost if using frozen)
The juice from ½ an orange
200ml sweet sherry (see note above)
1l fresh vanilla custard
600ml double cream
50g caster sugar
A generous flurry of grated chocolate
Method
Slice the madeira cake into 12 slices and create sandwiches with the raspberry jam. Arrange the sandwiches in an even layer across the base of a trifle dish or large bowl, trimming to fit if necessary and using the offcuts to fill in any gaps. Scatter with the raspberries then drizzle with the orange juice and the sherry. Set to one side for 1-2 hours to allow the cake to soak up all the juices.
Whisk the double cream with the caster sugar to form soft but thickish peaks. Cover the base of the trifle with the custard followed by the whipped cream and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours (or up to 24 hours) Serve scattered with the grated chocolate.
