Butter Sauce

This recipe is really useful. It goes well with so many different things and is rich and delicious. I had it for lunch today over green beans and a poached egg. I tried Heston Blumenthal's method for making the egg and I'm impressed. Came out perfectly - the white soft but totally set and the yolk runny.
This sauce also works well over fried sprats (or tinned sardines), chicken, hard boiled eggs... what ever you have handy.

1 egg yolk
2 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp white wine vinegar

Put all the ingredients into a bowl over a pan of hot, steaming water. If you have a very thick bottomed pan you might just get away with making it straight in there (I have one that works) but it is much less likely to scramble over an indirect heat. Keep stirring while the butter melts and then until it begins to thicken. Serve immediatly.

Custard

Homemade custard is nice and easy and very tasty. You can make it without the flour but it's slightly tricker and you need to cook it over a double boiler. I tend to make this cheaters version!

10 fl oz cream
3 egg yolks
1 tbsp splenda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cornflour or arrowroot

Put the yolks, cornflour and sweetener in a bowl and mix. Heat the cream and vanilla to near boiling. Pour a little of the hot cream into the yolk mixture and stir quickly in. Keep adding the cream a little at a time until it's all combined. Pour the custard back into the saucepan and gently heat until thickened.

Gluten-free trifle

I made this for a big family buffet yesterday and it was very popular. The texture of the sponge fingers was fine in the jelly and they taste rather good out of it too!

1 pack of sugar-free jelly (or you could make your own with fruit and gelatin which would be even better!)
250 ml whipping cream (or double cream)
3 egg yolks
250 ml double cream
1 tsp corn flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp splenda (or other sweetener)
5 egg whites
1/2 cup vanilla flavoured whey protein powder
1 tsp cream of tarter
1 banana and any other fruit you like
2 tbsp chopped mixed nuts
1 tbsp grated dark chocolate

I got the recipe for the sponge fingers from this tiramisu recipe which is next on my list of things to make! Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks (tip the bowl and if they don't start to fall out then you're good) then fold in the cream of tarter and whey powder. My whey powder needed sieving before hand. It is also quite sweet but you might want to add a little sweetener here. Pour the mixture into a greased 9 inch pan and then bake at 160 oC for about 25 - 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Make up your jelly according to instructions and then leave to cool for a while, until luke warm but not yet setting.

Slice the sponge fingers into strips about 2cm wide and arrange in your trifle dish. Pour over the jelly mixture. One problem I had with these fingers over cake was that they float so you might want to weigh them down with something while the jelly sets. You can also add other fruit like raspberries or strawberries to the jelly (but not kiwi, pineapple or papaya or it won't set). Put the dish in the fridge to set.

In a bowl, mix the egg yolks, corn flour, vanilla extract and sweetener. Heat 250 ml of double cream in a saucepan until almost simmering then pour a little into the mixture in the bowl. Whisk it smooth then add a little more of the hot cream. Repeat until it's all combined then pour back into the saucepan and heat very gently until it starts to thicken. Take off the heat and keep stirring for a few minutes to keep it lump free. Set aside to cool.

Whip the cream with a pinch of sweetener if you like. Then assemble the trifle. I put a layer of sliced banana, then the custard, then whipped cream and top it all with the nuts and grated chocolate. If there are any kids in the kitchen then hundreds and thousands tend to happen too...