Peach Melba trifle
This is why you need to make trifle for Christmas: it is plan-ahead glory. You can start it a week out. Once you've collated your ingredients* it's a mere stir, pop in fridge, layer and repeat. Make the elements over the course of a week and you can reserve the last few elements for throwing in on the day. It's completely stress-free and a tabletop showstopper. If you are short on time, substitute the mini pavlovas in the recipe for chunks of store-bought meringue.
Ingredients
Peach (base layer)
1kg tinned peaches in their juices (try to find the reduced sugar version, to prevent this from being sickly sweet)
3 tbsp gin (preferably with floral or berry flavour notes)
3 tbsp elderflower cordial
2½ sheets titanium strength gelatin
White chocolate and yoghurt panna cotta (second layer)
1kg thick vanilla bean yoghurt
scant 1½ cups (250g) couverture white chocolate
1½ sheets titanium strength gelatin
1½ tbsp vanilla bean paste
2 tbsp elderflower cordial
Mini pavlovas
4 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp lemon juice (or white wine vinegar)
1 tsp cornflour
To decorate
3 x 125g punnets of raspberries
¾ cup peach popping pearls
excellent quality shortbread biscuits broken into chunks
roasted and/or fresh peaches
freeze-dried raspberries
Method
1. For the peach layer, add the tinned peaches and their juices along with the gin and cordial to a blender and blitz to a thick, uniform texture with a similar consistency to fruit nectar. Soak the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water until soft (5 minutes).
2. Transfer 250ml of the peach liquid to a small saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium heat (2-4 minutes), then remove from heat. Squeeze excess water from gelatin, add to the pan and stir until completely dissolved. Stir gelatin mixture through remaining peach liquid, pour into a trifle bowl and refrigerate until set (overnight).
3. For the panna cotta layer, add the yoghurt to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
4. Gently melt the white chocolate in a bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, ensuring the bowl doesn't touch the water, until just melted, then remove from heat. While the chocolate is melting, soak the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water until soft (5 minutes). Squeeze excess water from gelatin, then add to the chocolate and whisk briskly to combine. The chocolate will look like it has seized and may look a little grainy – don't panic – it's all OK.
5. As soon as it's incorporated, whisk the gelatin-chocolate mixture through the yoghurt, along with the vanilla and elderflower. Gently pour the panna cotta mixture over the set peach layer and pop in the fridge to firm up, at least 4 hours.
6. For the mini pavlovas preheat oven to 130C fan-forced (150C conventional) and line several baking trays with baking paper.
7. Whisk egg whites and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer to soft peaks (4 to 5 minutes), then, with motor running, gradually add sugar and whisk until firm and glossy (2 to 3 minutes). Whisk in the lemon juice (or vinegar), then fold in cornflour.
8. Using 2 dessert spoons, shape into rough quenelles and place onto trays. Place trays in preheated oven, reduce the temperature to 110C fan-forced (130C conventional), and bake until the meringues are crisp but not coloured (1-1¼ hours). Turn off heat and cool completely in oven with the door closed (3 to 4 hours). Meringues will keep in an airtight container for 1 day.
9. Once the panna cotta layer has set, scatter fresh raspberries and top with shortbread chunks. Gently spoon over the peach popping pearls before stacking the mini pavlovas on top. Arrange the peaches, scatter over the freeze-dried raspberries and serve.
*Note: a couple of ingredients need extra sniffing about for – the freeze-dried raspberries and the peach popping pearls – both of which can be found online and delivered, or sourced from specialist grocers (the freeze-dried raspberries) or your local bubble tea store (the popping pearls). I know it might seem odd adding the popping pearls, and heck, maybe it is, but they add such a glorious pop of sweetness and intrigue.
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Katrina Meynink is a cookbook author and Good Food recipe columnist.
