Recipe: Black Forest trifle

My 2024 Christmas dessert

Layers of unctuous chocolate sponge soaked with espresso and a light cherry syrup, morello cherry preserve, plump cherries, velvety rich chocolate crème pâtissière and vanilla-flecked whipped cream.

Black Forest gateau is a favourite of my sister’s, and for the longest time she has asked me to make it. My opportunities to make it for her have been few and far between, considering neither of us have lived even remotely close to one another for years. Now, with us both home for Christmas, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally fulfil her wishes. To serve a layer cake after a big meal like Christmas dinner seems odd to me, so I turned it into a trifle–no less rich and filling, in fact potentially more so, but a trifle on Christmas Day feels entirely appropriate. After about 5 minutes of putting the trifle down on the table, there were maybe 2 portions left, which is unheard of in my experience of serving dessert to a table of already very full people–take that as your sign to make this.

I made the sponge and crème pâtissière 2 days before serving, and built the trifle the day before. I think trifle benefits from being made the day before as it allows for all of the flavours to mingle and marinade slightly. Plus, to be able to have the dessert made and out of the way when there are so many other things going on in the kitchen on Christmas Day is a blessing.

The sponge recipe is Ravneet Gill’s, with a very minor few changes.