Vegan Raspberry, Almond and Sherry and Saffron Trifle

This glorious vegan trifle recipe is perhaps the ultimate comfort food dessert. Beautifully rich coconut cream, custard and raspberry compote add bags of flavour.  The raspberries make it a summery dessert. But you can use any seasonal fruit you like.

Ingredients:

Vegan sponge:

• 200g self-raising flour
• 160g castor sugar
• 60g ground almond
• 1½tsp baking powder
• 250ml soya milk
• 100ml oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Saffron custard:

• 1.5ml almond milk
• 180g castor sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch saffron, about 10 threads
• 80g cornflour

Berry Compote:

• 260g raspberries
• 100ml water
• ½ tbsp lemon juice
• 60g castor sugar

Coconut Whipped Cream:

• 800ml coconut milk, chilled in the fridge overnight
• 50g icing sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Method:

For the sponge: Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C for fan oven. Line a 23cm round cake tin with baking paper.

Place all the dry ingredients for the vegan sponge in a large bowl and mix together. Measure out the wet ingredients into a jug and again mix together with a whisk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and mix until well combined, then pour into the lined cake tin. Bake for 30 minutes until well risen and the sponge springs back to the touch.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes in the tin, then turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

For the custard: Put all the ingredients, except the cornflour into a pan and heat gently, stirring frequently until warm.

Mix the cornflour with enough cold water to make a smooth paste. Add to the almond milk mixture and cook for a few minutes, stirring until thickened. Remove the pan from the heat. Strain the custard through a sieve to remove any lumps. Leave to cool.

For the raspberry compote: Put half the berries with the remaining ingredients in a saucepan and bring up to a simmer. Cook gently for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the berries have totally broken down and the liquid is glossy.

Take the pan off the heat, leave the compote to cool a little then blend with a blender. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds, then mix with the remaining berries.

To assemble: Cut the sponge into slice 2.cm thick and use to line the base of a glass trifle dish evenly. Pour the sherry evenly over the sponge, then spoon over an even layer of raspberry compote.

Leave in the fridge for 20 minutes or more to settle before carefully spooning over the custard. Cover and leave the custard to set in the fridge for a few hours.

When the custard is almost set, make the coconut whipped cream. Open the can of coconut milk and scoop off the thick cream from the top into a bowl. Sift icing sugar into the bowl and add in the vanilla extract. Whisk in a fairly high speed until the mixture comes together. careful not to over whip.

Pipe the freshly whipped coconut cream on top of the trifle or spoon a small spoonfuls and spread out across the top, then heat the spoon in hot water and use it to smooth the surface of the cream. Finally scatter with the toasted almonds and decorate with raspberries