Strawberry Pimm's trifle

Method

Strawberry Pimm's trifle

1) Take 3/4 of the strawberries and prepare a coulis. Slice them thinly then add into a saucepan with 1 tablespoosn of sugar and the juice from the lemon and the sprig of mint. Add in a tablespoon of Pimm's. Slowly poach the strawberries so that they let out their juice. You don't want to mash them. Stir carefully to coat all the fruit in the juice and Pimm's mixture. Simmer gently to allow the fruit/ liquid mixture to reduce slightly, then take off the heat and drain the juices into a jug. To this jug, add another tbsp of Pimm's and stir.

2) In the mean time, beat the double cream until it forms soft peaks, then add 2 tbsp of Pimm's and beat in the mascarpone. When the mix is combined, warm the strawberry jam in the microwave for 30 secs, then fold in 3 tbsp of jam so you get a ripple effect.

3) Start to put the trifle together by layering a glass dish with sponge fingers. If you're using madeira cake, cut 1cm thick slices. When the bottom of the dish is lined, drizzle the Pimm's/strawberry juice mixture to soak the sponge. Spoon over a layer of strawberries (to add interesting texture, you could slice some extra strawberries and add in at this point) then spread a layer of the mascarpone/ cream mixture. Repeat with another sponge layer and so on until you reach the top of the bowl. The last layer should be a layer of cream/mascarpone.

4) To finish, take the rest of the strawberries and slice thinly. Carefully layer these over the top of the trifle to cover the entire top. Warm through a tablespoon of jam, then brush this on the top. Put the container in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.