Slice up 2 of the swiss rolls into 1cm thick slices. Use it to line the side of a 3.5-litre trifle dish – just one layer. If you have any leftovers, put to one side and cover for now. We’ll use it later.
3 x 190 g (3 x 6.7 oz) jam swiss rolls
Add the raspberries to the centre of the trifle dish.
200 g (7 oz) fresh raspberries
Slice up the jelly cubes and place them in a bowl or jug. Add 400ml of boiling water and stir together until the jelly cubes have dissolved.
2 x 135 g (2 x 4.8 oz) packs of raspberry jelly cubes
Add 500ml of cold water and stir together.
Pour this jelly mixture into the trifle dish, over the raspberries and swiss roll.
Place the refrigerator to set for at least 4 hours (up to 2 days)
Once the jelly has set, take it out of the refrigerator.
Chop the remaining swiss rolls into chunky pieces – approx. 1-1.5cm cubed. Place in a bowl and drizzle over the sherry – try to ensure a little bit of sherry gets onto each piece.
3 tbsp sherry
Arrange the sponge pieces over the top of the jelly and place back in the fridge while you make the custard.
Place the custard powder, sugar, and 4 tbsp of the milk into a saucepan. Stir together to form a paste.
Now slowly pour in the remaining milk, while stirring, until fully mixed together.
Put the heat on under the pan and heat over a medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon, until the custard thickens (be sure to keep stirring, otherwise the custard can catch and burn at the bottom of the pan). It will thicken quite quickly just as it’s starting to approach boiling point.
As soon as it thickens, turn off the heat.
Leave to cool to room temperature – about 20-30 minutes. If you want to prevent any skin from forming, place a piece of clingfilm on top (touching all exposed parts of the custard) when cooling.
Remove the clingfilm and give the custard a stir. Take the trifle out of the fridge and pour/spoon the custard over the top, to completely cover the sponge pieces in custard.
Place back in the fridge for 1 hour to chill the custard (again, cover with clingfilm if you wish to prevent a skin from forming. This is optional).
Add the whipping cream to a large bowl or stand mixer. Whisk using a hand whisk or the whisk attachment on your stand mixer until you get to the soft peaks stage (the creamy should look soft, thick and pillowy, and will just stay on a spoon if you turn a spoonful of it upside-down.
600 ml (2 1/2 cups) whipping cream
Add the vanilla extract and then sift over the icing sugar. Whisk again for a few seconds to combine the vanilla and icing sugar into the cream.
Spoon the cream over the top of the trifle in big dollops.
Sprinkle over the rainbow sprinkles, then serve.
1 tbsp rainbow sprinkles
Alternatively, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until ready to eat (it should keep for 2 days). If you’re refrigerating it for more than a couple of hours, I would leave the sprinkles off until you’re just about to serve – as the colour from the sprinkles will ‘bleed’ into the cream if left for too long.
Notes
US termsThere are quite a lot of British-isms in this recipe, so I'll try to decipher for those of you in the US. If you think i've got something wrong, please let me know in the comments.
Jam Swiss Rolls - same as jelly roll cake - it should just be a thin sponge rolled up with jelly (we call is jam in the UK), no cream or anything additional in there.
Jelly - same as your Jell-O. I'm using cubes in this recipe.
Caster Sugar - same as your superfine sugar
Icing/Confectioners' sugar - same as your powdered sugar
Trifle dishI use this 3.5 litre trifle dish (<-- affiliate link). If you're in the US, this link should take you to a similar one to the one I use, it's a little smaller, at 3 liters, but will still work fine. My trifle dish is height 18cm, top diameter 23cm.Ingredient swaps
Swap raspberries for strawberries (you can also swap the raspberry flavoured jam swiss roll and jelly for strawberry flavoured)
Swap the swiss roll for your favourite sponge. A plain or jam sponge works best (as opposed to chocolate/cream fillings)
Swap the sprinkles for a topping of your choice - kirsch cherries, fresh berries, flaked almonds, grated chocolate - all make great toppings
Swap the sherry for another spirit/liqueur - cherry brandy, amaretto, spiced rum and calvados are great options
Sizing down this recipeYou can halve or even quarter this recipe to serve 4-6 people - sticking to the same ingredient ratios. You will need a smaller dish (1 litre for 4 people, 1.5-2 litre for 6 people).Alternatively, you can make in small individual dishes. If you're doing this, you won't be able to line the edge of the dish all the way around with jam sponge - as it will take up too much space. You can simple add chunks of jam sponge in with the raspberries and cover with jelly.Storage:This trifle should keep well, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.Nutritional information is approximate, per serving, based on this recipe serving 12 people.