A lemon and amaretti Swiss roll trifle has been crowned the official pudding for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee after beating thousands of people in a competition to find a new royal dessert.
Jemma Melvin, a copywriter from Southport, Merseyside, who only decided to enter after a friend suggested it to her, said winning the contest was “surreal”.
Some 5,000 people aged between eight to 108 entered the national competition to commemorate the Queen’s 70-year reign.
The entries were narrowed down to a final five, who competed in a dedicated TV show screened on BBC One.
The finalists’ puddings were tasted by a panel of judges led by Dame Mary Berry and Masterchef: The Professionals judge Monica Galetti.
“I didn’t think I’d go any further but I made it to the final 50, made it to the final five, and now my pudding has been chosen. It’s ridiculous,” said Melvin.
The 31-year-old amateur baker took inspiration from the lemon posset served at the Queen’s 1947 wedding to Prince Philip and the special women in her own life.
She said: “This particular trifle is a tribute to three women: it’s my Gran, my Nan and the Queen herself.
“My Grandma taught me to bake, she taught me all the elements, everything from scratch.
“My Nan’s signature dish was always a trifle; we used to call her the queen of trifles.
“And the Queen had lemon posset at her wedding.”
The trifle is made with layers of lemon curd and custard, St Clement's jelly, a mandarin coulis made with tinned mandarins, amaretti biscuits, whipped cream and finished with a jewelled chocolate bark.
It will join the ranks of royal-inspired dishes like coronation chicken and the Victoria sponge.
Ms Melvin said she hopes her winning recipe will be made by bakers across the UK to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.
“I’m hoping that everyone across the country is going to make this, I’ve made it really accessible,” she said.
Keen to make your own Jubilee pudding? Here’s Melvin’s recipe in full.
Jemma’s Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle
Serves 20
Prep time: over two hours
Cook time: 35 minutes
You will need two Swiss roll tins, measuring approximately 24cm x 34cm and a trifle dish with capacity of approximately 3.5 litres. However, you could always halve the recipe to serve 10.
For the custard:
425ml double cream
Three large free-range egg yolks
25g golden caster sugar
One tbsp cornflour
One tsp lemon extract
For the amaretti biscuits:
Two free-range egg whites
170g caster sugar
170g ground almonds
One tbsp amaretto
Butter or oil, for greasing
For the Swiss rolls:
Four large free-range eggs
100g caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
100g self-raising flour, sieved
Butter, for greasing
For the lemon curd:
Four large free-range egg yolks
135g granulated sugar
85g salted butter, softened
One lemon, zest only
80ml fresh lemon juice
For the St Clement’s jelly:
Six gelatine leaves
Four unwaxed lemons
Three oranges
150g golden caster sugar
For the chunky mandarin coulis:
Four x 397g tinned mandarins
45g caster sugar
For the jewelled chocolate bark:
50g mixed peel
1tbsp caster sugar (optional)
200g white chocolate, broken into pieces
To assemble:
600ml double cream
Method
To make the Swiss rolls, preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line two Swiss roll tins with baking paper.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together with an electric hand whisk for approximately five minutes.
Using a metal spoon, gently fold in the flour. Divide between the two tins and bake for 10–12 minutes.
Sprinkle some extra caster sugar on two sheets of baking paper then turn the sponges out onto the sugared paper.
Peel off the paper from the underside and, while still warm, roll them both up from the short end into a tight spiral using the paper to help. Leave to cool.
To make the lemon curd, place the egg yolks, granulated sugar, butter, lemon zest and lemon juice in a glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
Whisk until combined and whisk continuously as the curd cooks until thickened. This should take about 15 minutes. Pour into a clean bowl and set aside to cool.
To make the St Clement’s jelly, soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for five minutes to soften.
Using a vegetable peeler, peel six strips from a lemon and six strips from an orange and put these into a saucepan with the sugar and 400ml water.
Bring to a simmer over a medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and discard the peel.
Squeeze the water out of the gelatine and stir into the pan until dissolved then leave to cool. Squeeze the lemons and oranges, so you have 150ml of both lemon and orange juice.
Stir into the pan then strain the jelly through a fine sieve into a jug and chill until cool but not set.
To make the amaretti biscuits, preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until firm.
Mix the sugar and almonds gently into it. Add the amaretto and fold in gently until you have a smooth paste.
Place some baking paper on a baking tray and lightly brush with butter or oil. Using a teaspoon, place small heaps of the mixture approximately two cm apart, as they will expand during cooking.
Bake for approximately 15–20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
To make the chunky mandarin coulis, strain two tins of mandarins. Discard the juice and put the fruit into a saucepan with the sugar and heat gently until broken down.
Remove from the heat. In a small bowl, stir the arrowroot with two tablespoons of cold water to make a paste, then add to the warm mandarins.
Add the lemon juice and mix well before pouring into a large bowl. Strain the remaining two tins of mandarins and add the fruit to the bowl then leave to cool completely.
To make the jewelled chocolate bark, if the peel feels wet or sticky, roll in the caster sugar to absorb any moisture. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl sitting over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Pour the melted chocolate onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and scatter over the mixed peel. Leave to set then break into shards.
To assemble, unroll the cooled Swiss rolls and spread with the lemon curd. Roll back up again and slice one into 2.5cm slices and place upright around the bottom edge of the trifle dish so the swirl is visible.
Slice the other Swiss roll into thicker pieces and use these to fill the bottom of the dish, ensuring the top is roughly the same level as the slices that line the edge. Use off-cuts of sponge to fill any gaps.
Pour the St Clement’s jelly over the Swiss roll layer and set aside in the fridge to completely set. This will take approximately three hours.
Once set, pour over the custard, then arrange a single layer of amaretti biscuits, keeping a few back for the top. Pour over the mandarin coulis. In a large bowl, whip the double cream until soft peaks form then spoon this over the coulis. Crumble over the reserved amaretti biscuits and decorate with the chocolate bark shards.
