Rosella, Burnt Vanilla Trifle

50g x Banksia flower fresh picked

2 x bay leaf

100ml Water

100g x Sugar

50ml sweet vermouth ( maidenii is my preferred brand )

Spounge cake

120g x plain flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

4 x eggs

70 g x melted butter

120g x  caster sugar

Custard

6 x Egg yolks

75g x Sugar

4 x Vanilla pods

100ml x Milk

350ml x cream

Rosella jelly

400ml x Rosella

125g x Sugar

250ml x water

25g x Gelatine leaves

750g x Fresh Raspberries

300ml double cream whipped

sweet vermouth extra

For the Banksia flower syrup soak the flowers in the water over night then remove and add sugar, bay leaf and sweet vermouth bring to the boil and set aside.

Line a 20cm tin with baking paper and pre heat the oven to 180 degrees, sift the flour and baking powder together and set aside in a kitchen mixer add the eggs and sugar and whisk until tripled in size. Sift the flour mixture 1/3 at a time into the egg mixture carefully stirring it through once all the flour is added mix in the cooled melted butter making sure not to over work the mix. Pour into the cake tin and bake for about 20 min or until it springs back when you gently press the top set aside on a cooling rack.

To make the burnt vanilla custard place the vanilla pods in a dry pan and cook until they slightly scorch and burn about 3min, cut the vanilla pods length ways and scrape out the centre add both to a heavy based pot with the milk and cream bring to the boil and remove from the heat, Wisk egg yolks and sugar until pale in colour pour over the milk and cream mixture and Wisk until combined place contents back into the pot and stir on a medium heat with a wooden spoon about 5min or until it reaches 79 degrees once thickened strain in to a bowl and let cool.

For the rosella jelly soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until soft, puree the rosella and water in a bar blender then strain add rosella puree and sugar in to a  pot until sugar is dissolved remove from the heat and let cool slightly before you add the softened gelatine poor the mix in a plastic container and set  in the fridge about 2hrs.

To assemble the trifle use a nice glass trifle dish so you can see all the colours and textures, Cut the sponge into 5mm slices and lay on a board with a pastry brush paint the sponge with the rosella syrup and splash with a little more sweet vermouth so it gets a good soaking then lay it into the glass dish, then brake up the jelly into 4-5cm pieces and continue to layer soaked sponge then jelly then custard and raspberries until you reach the top of the glass you should finish with a layer of raspberries on top and one more good splash of sweet vermouth is recommended