Fruit, cake, booze and cream: this dessert has the flavours of a trifle but a little more panache. You can make the jelly and the cake ahead of time, and then on the day all you’ll need to do is whip the cream and assemble everything.
Ingredients
Raspberry jelly
Almond cake
Meringues
Method
Main
1.For raspberry jelly, combine sugar and 500ml water in a saucepan and bring to the simmer over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add 350gm raspberries, simmer until raspberries just break down (5 minutes), remove from heat and stand for 15 minutes. Process mixture in a food processor or blender, then strain through a fine sieve double-lined with muslin and placed over a jug in the refrigerator. Drain without pressing on solids (5-6 hours); you will need 450ml raspberry liquid. Place 125ml raspberry liquid in a small saucepan and bring to the simmer over high heat. Squeeze excess water from gelatine, add to liquid and stir to dissolve. Remove from heat, stir in remaining raspberry liquid, divide among six 150ml dariole moulds, scatter with remaining raspberries and refrigerate until set (4-5 hours).
2.Meanwhile, for almond cake, preheat oven to 180C. Combine icing sugar, almond meal, flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Add eggwhite and whisk to combine. Stir in melted butter and pour into a 20cm square tin, buttered and lined with baking paper. Bake until cake is golden and a skewer inserted in the centre withdraws clean (18-20 minutes), then cool in tin.
3.For meringues, reduce oven to 100C. Whisk eggwhite and a pinch of salt in an electric mixer until soft peaks form, then gradually add caster sugar and whisk until firm and glossy. Fold through icing sugar, then spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 2cm-diameter plain nozzle. Pipe 3cm-diameter peaks onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake until crisp but not coloured (12-15 minutes), cool on trays then store in an airtight container. Meringues will keep for 2 weeks.
4.To assemble, whisk cream, icing sugar and amaretto to soft peaks. Cut six rounds the same diameter as the base of the jelly moulds from almond cake with a cutter, drizzle each with a little amaretto, then place over base of jellies. Dip moulds quickly in hot water, turn out onto serving plates, top with a meringue and serve with amaretto cream and extra meringues if desired.
