Method

Chocolate Sponge

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/355°F Non-Fan Assisted.

2. Lightly grease a 39x27cm baking tray. Cut a rectangle of parchment paper so that it fits neatly inside the tray, and press it in. 

3. Into a medium bowl, add the egg yolks, and 20g of caster sugar. Whisk the mixture with an electric hand mixer (or in a stand mixer) until it is thicker in volume and pale in colour. About 1-2 minutes. Set this to one side. 

4. Into a medium bowl, add the egg whites and using an electric hand whisk  (or stand mixer) whisk on a medium-low speed. Once the mixture is frothy, increase the speed to medium and slowly add the remaining 55g of caster sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Whisk until you have a medium-stiff peak to the meringue.

5. Gently fold the first third of meringue into the egg yolk mixture. Once incorporated, add the second third, fold it through and then the final third.

6. Next, sift in the plain flour & cocoa powder, and fold the mixture carefully until there are no more streaks of dry ingredients. 

7. Finally, pour in the vegetable oil and whole milk. Use a spatula to fold this in, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl.

8. Pour the batter onto the lined tray, and then using a spatula, spread the batter out evenly.

9. Bake the sponge for 12 minutes then allow it to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature. 

Custard Base

1. Into a medium saucepan add the cream, milk, egg yolks, sugar and beans scraped from a fresh vanilla pod. 

2. Place this over a medium-low heat and whisk constantly until it reaches a temperature of 82C/180F on a digital thermometer. 

3. Immediately remove it from the heat and pour it through a sieve into a tall measuring jug. 

4. Split the mixture into half in between two measuring jugs, you should get around 260-285g per jug.

5. Add the chopped chocolate into one, butter into another, and then blend each until smooth with a hand blender. Add a pinch of flakey sea salt to each and stir it through with a spoon. Alternatively, if you want the vanilla version to be thicker, try using white chocolate instead of butter. 

6. Pour the vanilla custard onto a shallow baking tray and cover the surface directly with cling film. Cover the surface of the chocolate jug with cling film and refrigerate – this will thicken faster than the vanilla version. 

Assembly

1. Take the cooled chocolate sponge and flip it out of the tray onto a large silicon mat or piece of parchment paper. 

2. Take a few tablespoons of orange marmalade and spread this evenly across the sponge with an offset spatula.

3. Take a cookie cutter that is just slightly bigger than the width of your individual trifle dishes.

4. Place a disc of sponge into the base of each trifle dish.

5. Remove the chilled chocolate custard from the fridge (it needs 15-30 minutes to thicken and cool slightly).

6. Add it into a piping bag if you want, otherwise, pour an even layer across each dish.

7. Place it into the freezer or fridge just until a skin has formed on top and when you poke it with your finger, you feel there is enough of a ‘barrier’ to support the weight of the next layer.

8. Add a second disc of sponge, then remove the chilled vanilla custard from the fridge – this will be a looser consistency.  

9. Pour this on top of the sponge, leaving enough room at the top for cream.

10. Place the trifles into the fridge or freezer just until the vanilla mixture has set to create a slight barrier and support the weight of the cream. This can take slightly longer as the mixture is softer. 

11. For the whipped cream, simply add the cream to a bowl and whisk with an electric hand whisk until you have a medium stiff peak.

12. Spoon the cream on top of the set vanilla custard, and then level it completely with a slightly warm palette knife. 

13. The trifles can now be refrigerated until needed or served immediately. Dust with a light coating of cocoa powder when ready to serve.