To celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, we put our baking skills to the test and made the impressive trifle that was the winner of the Platinum Pudding Competition. We were very pleased with how it turned out, and we must say it was very delicious a lip-smacking good desert!
For the Queen’s Jubilee, Fortnum & Mason put together a competition where the winner’s pudding would become a delicious part of their history as well as forever associated with Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations too. Narrowing down to just five finalists from 5,000 entries, months of baking and tasting and hours of debate and deliberation from the famous face on the judging panel, Jemma from Southport was the winner with her Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle.
Happy Baking…
Jemma’s Journey
Jemma was inspired by her gran and nan, who were both extremely important to her. She was taught to bake at a very young age by her gran, and her nan was the trifle queen. While doing some research when putting together the recipe, Jemma found out that The Queen had lemon posset at her wedding, so this gave Jemma an idea and decided the pudding had to be based around the lemon flavour.
Jemma has baked her whole life and during lockdown, she used to make little boxes of baked treats and put them on her friend’s doorstep. Her friend is the biggest supporter of her baking and was the one who spotted the competition and suggested Jemma entered it.
Each element was made separately and tested by various members of her family and friends, but they didn’t really know what Jemma was working on. She ended up having a community of tasters while putting together the recipe.
Dame Mary Berry in her own words “It’s absolutely wonderful. I think Britain is going to be so delighted and The Queen too.”
The Platinum Pudding – Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle Recipe
Ingredients
For the Swiss rolls
- 4 large free-range eggs
- 100g caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
- 100g self-raising flour, sieved
- butter for greasing
For the lemon curd
- 4 large free-range egg yolks
- 135g granulated sugar
- 85g salted butter, softened
- 1 lemon, zest only
- 80ml fresh lemon juice
For the St Clement’s jelly
- 6 gelatine leaves
- 4 unwaxed lemons
- 3 oranges
- 150g golden caster sugar
For the custard
- 425ml double cream
- 3 large free-range egg yolks
- 25g golden caster sugar
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tsp lemon extract
For the amaretti biscuits
- 2 free-range egg whites
- 170g caster sugar
- 170g ground almonds
- 1 tbsp amaretto
- butter or oil, for greasing
For the chunky mandarin coulis
- 4x tins mandarins, around 300g each
- 45g caster sugar
- 16g arrowroot (2 sachets)
- 1/2 lemon, juice only
For the jewelled chocolate bark
- 50g mixed peel
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 200g white chocolate, broken into pieces
To assemble
- 600ml double cream
Method
1. To make the Swiss rolls, preheat the oven to 180C / 160C Fan / Gas 4. Grease and line the 2 Swiss roll tins with parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat the egg and sugar together with an electric hand whisk for approximately 5 minutes or until light and pale. Using a metal spoon, gently fold in the flour. Divide between the two tins and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the sponges are lightly golden and cooked through.
2. Sprinkle some extra caster sugar on two sheets of baking paper then turn the sponges out onto the sugared paper. Peel off the paper from the underside and, while still warm, roll them both up from the short end into a tight spiral using the paper to help. Leave to cool.
3. To make the lemon curd, place the egg yolks, granulated sugar, butter, lemon zest and lemon juice in a glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water). Whisk the ingredients together continuously until the curd thickens. This should take around 15 minutes. Pour into a clean bowl and set aside to cool.
4. To make the St Clement’s jelly, soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes to soften. Using a vegetable peeler, peel 6 strips of lemon and 6 strips of orange and put these in a saucepan with the sugar and 400ml water. Simmer over medium heat and stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and discard the peel. Squeeze the water out of the gelatine and stir into the pan until dissolved then leave to cool. Squeeze the lemons and oranges, so you have 150ml of both lemon and orange juice. Stir into the pan, strain the jelly through a fine sieve into a jug, and chill until cool but not set.
5. To make the custard, place the cream in a saucepan over a gentle heat and bring it up to simmer, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornflour and lemon extract, then gradually pour the hot cream into the bowl whilst whisking continuously. Immediately return the whole lot back to the saucepan and continue whisking over a gentle heat until the custard is thick and smooth. Pour the custard into a jug or bowl, cover the surface with greaseproof paper and leave to cool.
6. To make the amaretti biscuits, preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/ Gas 4. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until firm. Mix the sugar and almonds gently into it. Add the amaretto and fold in gently until you have a smooth paste.
7. Place some baking paper on a baking tray and lightly brush with butter or oil. Using a teaspoon, place small heaps of the mixture approximately 2cm apart, as they will expand during cooking. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
8. To make the chunky mandarin coulis, strain two tins of mandarins. Discard the juice and put the fruit into a saucepan with the sugar and heat gently until broken down. Remove from the heat. In a small bowl, slake the arrowroot with 2 tbsps of cold water then add to the warm mandarins. Add the lemon juice and mix well before pouring it into a large bowl. Strain the remaining two tins of mandarins and add the fruit to the bowl then leave to cool completely.
9. To make the jewelled chocolate bark, if the peel feels wet or sticky, roll in the caster sugar to absorb any moisture. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl sitting over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Pour the white chocolate into a bowl sitting over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Pour the white chocolate onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and scatter over the mixed peel. Leave to set then break into shards.
10. To assemble, unroll the cooled Swiss rolls and spread with the lemon curd. Rollback up again and slice one into 2.5cm/1 in slices and place upright around the bottom edge of the trifle dish so the swirl is visible. Slice the other Swiss roll into thicker pieces and use these to fill the bottom of the dish, ensuring the top is roughly the same level as the slices that line the edge. Use off-cuts of sponge to fill any gaps.
11. Pour the St Clement’s jelly over the Swill roll layer and set it aside in the fridge to completely set. This will take approximately 3 hours. Once set, pour over the custard then arrange a single layer of amaretti biscuits, keeping a few back for the top. Pour over the mandarin coulis. In a large bowl, whip the double cream until soft peaks form then spoon this over the coulis. Crumble over the reserved amaretti biscuits and decorate with the chocolate bark shards.
Recipe Shortcut Tips
- For the lemon curd, use 300g of ready-made lemon curd
- For the St Clement’s Jelly, use 1 packet of lemon-flavoured jelly and follow the packet’s instructions
- For the custard, use 500ml ready-made custard
- For the biscuits, use 100g ready-made amaretti biscuits
- Instead of making the jewelled chocolate bark, finish the trifle by scattering over the reserved amaretti biscuits, mixed peel and 50g of white chocolate chunks
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