Christmas trifle

Sponge layer

Select a 20cm x 28cm lamington tin and brush with a little of the melted butter. Dust with plain flour and tap to dislodge excess. Preheat oven to 180C.Beat eggs and sugar in an electric mixer until very thick and mousse-like - this will take about 10 minutes.

Sift flour over egg mixture and fold in thoroughly, but lightly, using a large metal spoon.Trickle the butter down sides of bowl and fold in thoroughly.

Pour into tin and bake for 12-15 minutes until top of cake feels springy to the touch (but do not open oven door before 12 minutes have elapsed).

Cool cake for a few minutes in tin, then turn out onto a clean tea towel and leave until cold

Fergus Henderson's cherry compote

Dissolve the sugar in the water, stirring until it has melted and washing down the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in cold water. Boil till it registers 112C on a sugar thermometer or is at the "soft ball" stage.Toss in one-third of the cherries and the lemon juice and stir well.

Turn down heat, cover pan and stew cherries for 10 minutes. Process in a blender, then pour the hot sauce over the rest of the cherries and allow to cool, stirring once or twice. (The other cherries will soften rather than cook through.)

Custard layer

The small amount of flour in this custard makes it more stable and the flour's flavour is not detectable.

Bring milk, cream and vanilla pod to a simmer in a heavy-based saucepan. Remove from heat and allow to infuse for 15 minutes. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl, scraping some of the seeds from the vanilla pod into the liquid.Remove pod, rinse, dry and store for future use.

Whisk egg yolks briefly with sugar and flour, then whisk in warm milk mixture.

Strain mixture back into rinsed pan and stir constantly over a moderate heat with a wooden spoon, until mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon.

Cool for a few minutes, then stir in dry marsala. Use while warm.

To assemble trifle

Select a beautiful, wide, 1-2 litre glass bowl. This is the time for the crystal bowl that you never use.· Cut the sponge cake into pieces to fit the base of the bowl and for a second layer of sponge. Remove the sponge pieces to a plate.

Mix wine and fortified wine together and sprinkle over the sponge. Set aside for 5 minutes.· Line the bottom of the bowl with about half of the cake.

Spoon over the cherry compote and top with the remainder of the soaked sponge.

Pour over warm custard and use the back of a spoon to press the layers down to exclude any air holes. Cover bowl with plastic film and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Remove from the fridge at least half an hour before serving and cover the custard with a good layer of whipped cream. If you wish to be even fancier and a bit 19th century, the cream can be replaced with a simple lemon syllabub.