or scroll for tips (and a little nostalgia).
Here it is.
The Cooking with Nana Ling version of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Trifle!
Celebrate in style with this dessert that feeds 20 and is quite literally fit for a Queen.
The Platinum Jubilee
Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years of service to the people of the United Kingdom, the Realms and the Commonwealth, is being celebrated in 2022.
The Coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London.
At the time, it was – of course – front page news. Here in Australia, Sydney’s The Sun shared this lovely photo of a 25-year-old Queen on its front page.
Seventy long years later, there are many events taking place to celebrate this milestone and I’m sure there will lots of front page news stories around the world. But the thing I got really excited about was the Platinum Pudding Competition.
It was launched to find the perfect dessert to serve to The Queen during the celebrations. And while Aussies couldn’t enter, I was thrilled when I saw the winning recipe by Jemma Melvin, a Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle pudding.
I was thrilled because, first, what a gorgeous dessert she has created. It looked just amazing.
Second, many of the elements of this lovely trifle are things that are already in the Cooking with Nana Ling Recipe collection. Which isn’t surprising really, as the winner of the competition says she was inspired by her own grandmother’s baking.
Also, while the original recipe contains tinned mandarins, fresh mandarins have just come into season here in Australia so I couldn’t wait to substitute the tinned variety for fresh mandarins.
Yes, I just had to make up my own version of this winning trifle recipe.
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Trifle – Nana Ling-style
So, as I’ve mentioned above, I’ve taken the original recipe and replaced the recipes for some of the elements of the trifle with Nana Ling’s recipes for those elements:
I’ve also replaced the tinned mandarins with fresh mandarins.
Because why wouldn’t you when the mandarins are falling off the trees here in Australia at the moment, and absolutely readily available at the supermarket.
Instead of using peel for the chocolate bark, I’ve used finely chopped mandarin skin which is tossed in a saucepan with some sugar for 5 minutes.
So that’s eliminated an ingredient and also uses up some of the mandarin skins that would otherwise be discarded.
And finally, I’ve added a step that my mum, Nan Mac (and I imagine her mum, Nana Ling) would not miss. I’ve sprinkled some juice over the sponge roll before adding the jelly layer.
All of the ingredients and instructions are below in the recipe card.
I had so much fun making this award-winning dessert and adding a few little “Cooking with Nana Ling” touches to the recipe.
Thanks, Jemma, for creating a truly special recipe!
While this is an amazing dessert, if you’re looking for something similar to celebrate a Jubilee, check out Nana Ling’s Jubilee Cake.
And find my Classic Trifle recipe here.
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Trifle
Equipment
- Trifle bowl (3.5 litres approx capacity)
Ingredients
Swiss Roll
- See Nana Ling's Swiss Roll recipe
- 1/4 cup orange juice
Lemon Curd
Jelly
- 1 packet orange jelly (85 grams jelly crystals)
- 1 packet lemon jelly (85 grams jelly crystals)
Amaretti Biscuits
Mandarin Coulis
- 8 mandarins, peeled and segmented (650 grams approx)
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 lemon and zest
Cream
- 600 ml thickened cream
Jewelled Chocolate Bark
- 180 grams white chocolate
- 2 mandarins, skin only
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
Instructions
Swiss Roll with Lemon Curd
- Make the two Swiss Rolls according to the recipe (link above in ingredient list) but fill it instead with Nana Ling's Lemon Curd (again, made according to the recipe – link above in ingredient list).
- Cut into slices and sprinkle with orange juice (once you've placed the slices in the trifle bowl – see below for assembling trifle).
Jelly
- Make up the jellies according to the packet instructions and then combine to make lemon/orange jelly.
Amaretti Biscuits
- Make the Amaretti Biscuits according to the recipe (link above in ingredient list).
Mandarin Coulis
- Peel the mandarins and blanch segments in boiling water for 5 minutes. Strain and then remove as much pith and seed from the segments as possible. Using a pair of kitchen scissors may help with this task.
- Combine half the mandarin segments with the sugar and half of the water in a saucepan. Heat gently until the mixture breaks down.
- Combine the arrowroot with the remaining water and add to the warm mandarin mixture. Heat gently to thicken. Take off heat and add the lemon juice and zest and stir to combine.
- Add the remaining whole mandarin segments to the mixture. Allow to cool completely before adding this layer to the trifle.
Cream
- Whip cream to form soft peaks.
Jewelled Chocolate Bark
- Finely chop mandarin skins. Place in a saucepan with the sugar and place over medium heat, stirring, for 5 minutes. Place onto baking paper to cool.
- Melt the white chocolate using 20 second bursts in the microwave and stirring between each burst.
- Pour chocolate onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and spread out with a spatula. Sprinkle the mandarin pieces over the chocolate and place in fridge to set.
- Once set, break or cut with a sharp knife into shards
To assemble
- Place swiss roll slices around the bottom of the trifle bowl with the swirl pattern visible around the outside. Sprinkle over the juice.
- Once jelly is almost set, pour on top of swiss rolls and place into fridge to set completely.
- Pour custard over set jelly.
- Keep one or two of the Amaretti Biscuits aside and place the rest in the trifle bowl as the next layer.
- Pour Mandarin Coulis over Amaretti Biscuits.
- Spread cream over top as next layer.
- Place shards of Jewelled Chocolate Bark into top of trifle and break up Amaretti Biscuits and sprinkle over the top of the cream.
Pete
Tuesday 7th of June 2022
I prepped it fine. But how should it be given to guests?
Libby Hakim
Tuesday 7th of June 2022
I think scooping it into individual bowls would work just fine, Pete. Make sure you scoop right down to the bottom so no one misses out on jelly or sponge!