Illawarra plum & lemon myrtle limoncello trifle

Trifle is pretty Australian and always (if done well) a show-stopper. This recipe can be made in one large centrepiece dish or in small individual glasses.

Illawarra Plum & Lemon Myrtle Limoncello Trifle Credit: Warndu Mai (Good Food)

• serves

  6

• prep

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

There are trifle lovers and trifle haters. I think it’s the soggy biscuits that throw people into worlds of love or hate.

Ingredients

• 100 g ooray plums
• 300 g Illawarra plums
• 4 Victoria or red plums
• 100 ml orange juice
• zest of 1 orange
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 100 g native cherries
• 1 whole sponge cake or 1 packet sponge finger biscuits (savoiardi or ladyfingers) 180 ml boiling water
• 1 tbsp ground lemon myrtle
• 150–200 ml limoncello or Green Ant citronella
• 500 ml thickened cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp wattleseed extract (optional) 
• 500 ml custard, homemade or bought

Instructions

1. Halve the plums and discard the stones. The Illawarra plums have very small stones so just put them in whole. Put the plums into a small saucepan with the orange juice, zest and sugar, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently until the plums are falling apart. Add the cherries right at the end to keep their texture. Leave to cool. 

 

2. If using a sponge cake, cut it into 2 cm slices. Select a serving bowl and layer the cake slices or biscuits in the base and a little way up the sides. 

 

3. Boil the water in a kettle, pour into a bowl and mix the hot water with the lemon myrtle powder until dissolved.

4. Stir in the limoncello (add more or less limoncello directly to the sponge depending on how soggy you like the cake) and pour the mixture over the cake. Push the cake down to soak up the liquid.

 

5. Whip the cream with the sifted icing sugar (and wattleseed extract, if using) until thick. Swirl the custard through the cream mixture. To assemble the trifle, spoon the cooled plum mixture on to the cake, then the custard mixture. Refrigerate 30 mins before serving.

This recipe is from Warndu Mai (Good Food) by Rebecca Sullivan & Damien Coulthard published by Hachette Australia, Hardback RRP $45

• Note

This recipe can be made up to one full day before serving.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

There are trifle lovers and trifle haters. I think it’s the soggy biscuits that throw people into worlds of love or hate.