As you may already know, I love the combination of different textures, especially in desserts. And that’s exactly what I did for this Mandarin Trifle. But wait, what is a trifle? A trifle is a layered dessert, most commonly found in British cuisine. It usually includes a thin layer of spongy biscuit soaked in sherry, custard and fruit. It’s basically a classy cake in a glass.
Trifles are the perfect way to combine different textures and flavors since every layer features a different consistency. For this recipe, I combined a delicious layer of a homemade, soft biscuit, fresh mandarins and a citric mandarin mousse, topped with crunchy, roasted almond slivers. Every bite is delicious on its own and the combination of it all together is even more tasty.
I created this recipe during the mandarin season in winter and used fresh mandarins. But this works perfectly well with canned mandarins, too, if you’re going for an elegant, summer dessert. Make sure to replace the mandarin juice in the mousse with fresh orange juice, to keep the citric flavor alive.
This Mandarin Trifle recipe is easy to make and can be prepared several hours before your guests arrive. Serve it in a transparent glass to beautifully present the different layers.
Have fun layering!
MANDARIN TRIFLE
INGREDIENTS
Biscuit
- Butter for greasing the parchment paper
- 3 eggs
- 50 g sugar
- 90 g all-purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Mandarin Mousse
- 330 ml heavy cream
- 150 g cream cheese
- 150 ml mandarin juice squeezed from approx. 2-3 mandarins; alternatively: use orange juice
- 75 g white sugar
Layering
- 5 mandarins alternatively: use 3 oranges
- 100 g slivered almonds
INSTRUCTIONS
Biscuit
- Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius (356° Fahrenheit). Line the baking tray with parchment paper and grease it with butter.
- Beat the eggs with the sugar for at least 4 minutes at the highest level until the mixture has a thick texture. Mix the flour with the baking powder and carefully fold it into the egg batter with a spatula. With a spatula, spread the batter out on the greased parchment paper until it has a thickness of approx. 1 cm. Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for approx. 15 minutes until the biscuit is cooked all the way through. To make sure it’s done, stick a needle or toothpick into it; the dough is cooked through if there is no dough sticking to the needle or toothpick once you pull it out. Let the biscuit cool slightly, remove from the parchment paper and let it cool down completely.
Mandarin Mousse
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the heavy cream for approximately 3–5 minutes, until the cream forms soft peaks (just before the cream is fully stiff).
- In a large bowl, whisk cream cheese with mandarin juice and sugar. Carefully add the whipped heavy cream to it and incorporate with a spatula with gentle movements. You want to make sure to integrate it completely with the least amount of movements to keep the mousse airy and fluffy.
Layering
- Toast the slivered almonds in a small, non-sticking frying pan over low heat and stir constantly until they’re slightly brown, and set aside. Peel the mandarins and cut off all of the small, white skins.
- Break the biscuit into small pieces by hand. Put the biscuit pieces in serving glasses or cups, then arrange mandarin slices on top of the biscuit, and pour some mousse over them. Depending on the size of your glass, add another layer of biscuit, mandarins and mousse.
- Decorate by adding some mandarin slices and roasted almond slivers on top. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
