Pistachio and Chocolate Trifle

2:20pm Friday 19th September 2008

When you think of a dessert thats quintessentially British, there are a few that come to mind.

Spotted dick, jam roly-poly and rice pudding are up there, but theres nothing more that reminds us of these islands than trifle.

Often terrible, but potentially magnificent and something we should be proud of.

At Oldfields, we make it with our own custard. You could use powdered or ready-made custard which would make it extremely easy but theres something special about making your own. Also, we dont use jelly.

Ive nothing against jelly, but its more reminiscent of childrens parties and this is a slightly more adult trifle.

And to complement it, its worth using good chocolate, something with at least 50 per cent cocoa solids.

Serves six One pack of sponge fingers 500ml of double cream Six egg yolk 80g of sugar Six measures of Bristol cream sherry 80g pistachio nuts C roughly chopped 100g good dark chocolate C finely grated Six martini glasses or other suitable serving bowls Method Place 400ml of the double cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk the yolks with the sugar and then pour on the boiling cream, whisking all the time before pouring back into the saucepan.

Place the pan over a very low heat and cook until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Make sure that you stir all the time, getting into the all the areas of the pan, in order to make sure the egg yolks dont cook too much and scramble.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Break up the sponge fingers and place in the serving dishes or martini glasses. Pour over the sherry and sprinkle over most of the grated chocolate and chopped pistachio, holding back some of each to sprinkle on the top before serving. Then spoon the custard on top and refrigerate to chill.

Whip the remaining cream and spread over the chilled trifle, finishing with the remaining chocolate and pistachio nuts. Heaven.

ñ Oldfields Restaurants cookbook, Passion for Real Food, is out now and available in good bookshops.

For discounted copies contact the restaurant in Claypath, Durham, on 0191-370-9595 or go to www.oldfieldsrestaurants.com.

Eating Out