If you’re making a trifle without the classic Crème Anglaise, did you really make one? We said what we said! Most often, while making trifles, custard is often labelled to be one of the components. What makes an anglaise different from the usual, thick and gloopy, pastel-yellow custard is that a crème anglaise is a creamier, runnier consistency with a full-bodied taste. Eggless custard often derives a bad reputation for tasting powdery or sickly sweet because of the lack of depth in flavour.
However, this recipe for an eggless crème anglaise custard that elegantly blankets layer after layer in an English trifle, is the only kind of eggless dessert you will ever want. If you’re a fruit-dessert person who runs in the other direction at the mention of chocolate to commemorate the end of a meal, this dessert is for you to enjoy.
Recipe:
Ingredients
- 500 ml whole milk
- 1 pinch saffron
- 4 tablespoons cornflour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 10-12 slices vanilla sponge cake
- ¼ cup strawberry jam
- ½ cup sliced berries of choice
- Whipped cream (optional)
Image Credits: KETohh
Method
- Warm up the milk in a heavy-bottomed pan and add the saffron strands to it. Use a few tablespoons of the warm milk to make a cornflour slurry and pour it back into the pan.
- Continue to stir, while adding the vanilla and sugar, while thoroughly incorporating both ingredients into the milk. Cook the mixture until it thickens slightly and starts to coat the back of your spoon without being too runny.
- Turn off the heat and add the butter and whisk thoroughly until fully combined. Your custard must look glossy, with a slight tinge of yellow, at this point.
- Cool the custard completely by placing it in a bowl and refrigerating it for at least an hour.
- Start by layering the sponge cake and jam in a dessert bowl followed by the custard and berries of your choice. Repeat the process until all the layers fill up the bowl and top up with whipped cream.
- Allow the trifle to sit in the fridge for 3-4 hours. Grate a few pieces of dark chocolate or sprinkle some cinnamon on top before serving individual portions.