At THE PIGs, we don’t put jelly in this classic, British pud – just plenty of good sherry and lashings of proper custard...
At THE PIGs, we don’t put jelly in this classic, British pud – just plenty of good sherry and lashings of proper custard...
Everyone is happy to see this retro razzle-dazzle of a pudding arrive at the party… especially at Christmas. It’s easy to assemble and is out of the kitchen, onto the table in less than an hour.
Ingredients
Serves 6
For the port/red wine poached pears:
- 750ml THE PIG Cut red wine (or port)
- 1L water
- 150g stem ginger syrup from a jar
- 8 stem ginger balls, chopped
- 50g fresh ginger, sliced
- 3 bay leaves, torn
- 3 star anise
- 4 large pears
For the sponge (if you’re low on time, a shop-bought pack will work just as well):
- 300g (around 6) egg whites
- 400g caster sugar
- 200g (around 6) egg yolks
- 400g ground almonds (free from lumps)
- 60g plain gluten free flour
To assemble:
- 1 carton of Bird’s custard
- Lightly whipped cream (around 300ml) mixed with sugar and vanilla
- Dry sherry
- A handful of toasted almonds and sprinkles
Method
- Start by making the ginger-poached pears. Place all the liquor ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Peel, halve and core the pears using a melon baller, then submerge the pears into the hot liquor. - Turn the heat down to low, then cover with a round disc of baking parchment (it should completely cover the pears and liquid, but fit inside the circumference of the pan. Watch a simple trick to do this on our YouTube channel).
- Cook the pears until softened (around 10-20 minutes) – a cocktail stick should go through the fruit with no resistance. Leave to cool in the liquid.
- If you’re making your own sponge, start by whisking together the egg whites and 200g of sugar to form a soft meringue (this will form the base of your sponge) and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the yolks and the remaining 200g of sugar to form a sabayon.
- Fold the almonds and flour into the sabayon, with a small spoonful of the meringue to let it down slightly.
- Gently fold the rest of the meringue into the sabayon mixture, and spread onto a lined gastro tray and bake at 190°C for 10 minutes until baked through.
- Leave to cool before cutting as desired – we dice ours into chunky squares, but you can keep the traditional shape of sponge fingers if you prefer.
- While you’re waiting for the sponge to cool, lightly whipped the cream with sugar and vanilla in it.
Once the sponge is cooled, soak with a good glug of dry sherry. - Start building the trifle by loosely chopping up the poached pears and mixing them together with the sponge. Scoop the mix into the bottom of a serving bowl (it should take up around half the bowl).
- Pour over the Bird’s custard until the sponge and pear mix is completely covered.
- Pipe or gently spoon the whipped cream over the top of the custard, and top with the toasted flaked almonds and sprinkles for a bit of extra fun.
Watch our Group Head Chef, Andy, and Group Development & Training Chef, Kamil, whip up our festive trifle over on our Christmas feasting YouTube series: PIG Tales.
