Christmas Recipe: Gingerbread & Mulled Wine Pear Trifle

An utterly delectable winter recipe for Gingerbread & Mulled Wine Pear Trifle, made with ready-made ginger cake, creamy custard and tinned pears.

It's a bit of a cheat's recipe, as the cake is already made, as is the custard and the pears are tinned, but that's a plus as we enter into the busy Festive season.

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You can of course use fresh pears, and just poach them after peeling, trimming and coring. However, Karen finds that good quality tinned pears work just as well, and all you need to do to is open a tin, and marinate them overnight in hot mulled wine.

Serve this at any special family gathering, such as Christmas Eve, Christmas Day Tea, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day or for Thanksgiving.

Gingerbread & Mulled Wine Pear Trifle Recipe

Prep: 30 minutes
Additional time for marinating: 8 to 12 hours
Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 x ginger cake, or gingerbread (230g to 250g) sliced
• 1 x 410g tinned pears in juice, NOT syrup, drained and cut in half or into thirds
• 1/2 bottle of Mulled Wine (350 to 375ml)
• 400g good quality ready-made custard; Karen used Ambrosia Deluxe West Country Cream Custard
• 1 x 227g pot of clotted cream
• 4 x chocolate flakes, crumbled and broken into small pieces
• Crystallised ginger, cut into small pieces
• Edible gold glitter

Method

1. The night before, or on the morning you want to make the trifle, heat the mulled wine in a saucepan, and add the sliced pears. Allow them to marinate for between 8 and 12 hours.
2. Arrange the sliced ginger cake/gingerbread in the bottom a trifle bowl, or a glass serving dish, I used an 8" (20cm) dish to make mine in.
3. Drain the pears, and pour a couple of tablespoons of the mulled wine over the ginger cake. Arrange the mulled wine infused pears over the ginger cake base.
4. Spoon the custard over the pears and put the trifle into the fridge for a couple of hours, to allow the custard to firm up.
5. Take the trifle out of the fridge half an hour before serving, and dollop the clotted cream over the custard, covering all of the custard with it. You may need a little more clotted cream if your bowl or dish is wider than 8" (20cms)
6. Scatter the crumbled and broken chocolate flakes over the top, add the crystallised ginger and spray or sprinkle with edible gold glitter.
7. Keep in a cold or cool place until serving. Store any leftovers in the fridge.
8. Serve using your favourite Burleigh bowls.