Rhubarb and ginger trifle

Preparation time
overnight

Cooking time
10 to 30 mins

Serves
Serves 6–8

Dietary
Vegetarian

By Matt Tebbutt
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the rhubarb and ginger

6 rhubarb sticks, sliced
caster sugar (half the weight of the rhubarb)
1 orange, zest strips and juice
2 tbsp grenadine
125ml/4fl oz Madeira
few pieces stem ginger, chopped

For the custard

3 free-range egg yolks
1 tbsp cornflour
50g/1¾oz caster sugar
150ml/5fl oz whole milk
150ml/5fl oz double cream
1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped

To serve

1 shop-bought Jamaican ginger cake, cut into 2cm/1in slices
200ml/7fl oz double cream, whipped
2 tbsp stem ginger syrup, to taste
50g/1¾oz toasted almonds
30g/1oz candied ginger pieces

Method

To make the rhubarb and ginger, place the rhubarb, sugar, orange zest and juice, grenadine, Madeira and ginger in a container and leave to macerate overnight.
Remove the rhubarb from the container and transfer the rest of the ingredients to a saucepan. Bring to the boil and then add the rhubarb back in. Turn the heat off and cover. Leave to cool as this will cook the rhubarb gently.
To make the custard, mix the egg yolks, cornflour and sugar in a bowl. Heat the milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan. Pour the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture and whisk. Transfer back to the pan and stir constantly until thickened. Simmer for a few minutes to cook out the cornflour. Leave to cool.
Layer alternative layers of ginger cake slices, rhubarb and custard into a trifle dish. Top with the whipped cream, drizzle of ginger, toasted almonds and flecks of ginger pieces.