Christmas Trifle Built on Melting Moments

1. Take the custard and cream out of the fridge only when you need them. Everything in this dessert works better cold.
2. Line the base of a 3 litre glass bowl with a single layer of melting moments, standing a few up around the inside of the glass so the edge looks deliberate.
3. Spoon the orange juice evenly over the biscuits. Do not pour it in one place. You want them damp, not swimming.
4. Warm the triple berry jam with the tablespoon of hot water and stir until it is pourable, then let it cool for 2 minutes.
5. Dollop the raspberry and blackberry conserve over the biscuits and spread it roughly with the back of a spoon.
6. Tip in two thirds of the berries, then drizzle the loosened jam over them so it runs between the fruit.
7. Spoon the cold custard over the fruit in dollops rather than pouring it, then smooth the top. Pushing a spatula down the inside of the glass here is what keeps the layers separate.
8. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and overnight if you can. This is the step that turns four layers into a trifle.
9. Whip the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla to soft peaks only. Stop when the whisk leaves a trail that slowly settles. Overwhipped cream is grainy and will not spread without tearing the custard.
10. Spoon the cream over the top and swirl it. Scatter the remaining berries, the chopped macadamias and the shortbread shards over it, and put it back in the fridge until you serve.

Make ahead, and how far ahead is too far

Build it to the end of the custard layer the day before and keep it covered in the fridge. Add the cream and everything on top within two hours of serving, so the shortbread shards are still crisp and the cream has not started to weep. The whole assembled trifle is at its best between 12 and 24 hours old. Past 36 hours the biscuits move from soft to gone and the layers stop being layers, so if Christmas lunch is the target, build it on Christmas Eve and not before.

Do not freeze it. Custard splits, cream weeps, and berries collapse. Leftovers keep two days in the fridge, and by then it has become a fool rather than a trifle, which is no bad thing in a bowl with a spoon.

The same biscuits turn up in our guide to where to buy Jen's biscuits, and if you want the rest of the hot-weather dessert set, our round-up of Christmas desserts in Australia has the alternatives that do not need an oven.

Common questions

Can you make trifle the day before?

You should. Assemble everything up to and including the custard the day before and refrigerate it overnight, which lets the biscuits soften evenly and the fruit juices work down through the layers. Add the whipped cream and the crunchy toppings within a couple of hours of serving. A trifle finished completely 24 hours ahead ends up with weeping cream and soft shortbread on top, which is the one part that is meant to be crisp.

What can you use instead of sponge in a trifle?

Shortbread and other dense biscuits are the best swap, because they soften slowly instead of dissolving. Melting moments are ideal since the cream filling adds a fat layer that slows the juice down. Panettone, brioche, madeleines and leftover Christmas cake all work. Avoid anything very airy, such as sponge fingers in a hot room, unless you are serving within two hours of building it.

How do you stop trifle going soggy?

Use a biscuit rather than a sponge, keep the soaking liquid to about 80ml for a 3 litre bowl, and make sure the custard is fridge cold when it goes on. Warm custard is the usual culprit, because it melts through everything below it. Sealing the biscuit layer with jam before the fruit goes on also helps, and adding the crunchy topping at the last minute keeps at least one part of it crisp.

The biscuits sit with the rest of our biscuits and the conserves with our jams and spreads, alongside the whole Jen's Biscuits range and the rest of festive entertaining essentials. Shipping is free Australia-wide on orders over $100.