The original is a Nigel Slater recipe, considerably modified by me to suit local circumstances.
Line the bottom of a glass bowl with sponge fingers, madeleines, or trifle sponges, breaking them up to fill any gaps (I sometimes use macaroons as well). Pour over just enough Muscat to soak the sponges (the original recipe specified sherry, but I prefer the more subtle flavour of Muscat).
Cover the sponge with a layer of soft fruit (ideally raspberries — can be fresh, frozen, or even tinned). Cover these with a layer of sliced bananas.
Now make the custard: cream 2 egg yolks with 50g of sugar, and use an electric whisk to beat in a 250g tub of mascarpone. Then whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold into the egg yolk mixture. Pour this cream over the contents of the dish, smoothing the top. The original recipe then added half a pint of whipped cream, but I find this totally unnecessary, not to say excessive. So just decorate the top nicely with fresh or candied fruit and a sprinkle of toasted almond flakes. It can be eaten more or less straightaway, or you can put it in the fridge for an hour or so.
You will note that this recipe includes raw eggs, so the usual disclaimers apply. I suppose you could use ordinary custard, but this cream is much quicker to make (you don’t have to wait for it to cool down) and has a lovely light texture.
This recipe is based on one from Real Fast Puddings by Nigel Slater.
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