A Very Conceited Syllabub Trifle

1. For the syllabub, combine the lemon zest and juice, white wine and icing sugar in a small bowl. Set aside for 2 hours.
2. Mix the custard with the orange zest.
3. Place half the cake at the bottom of a 2.3 litre/4 pint deep glass serving dish and pour over the sherry. Toss the raspberries on top. Now add the amaretti biscuits, pour over the brandy or rum and place the strawberries on top. Now pour over the custard and top with the rest of the cake.
4. Make the syllabub by loosely whipping the cream and adding the lemon and wine mixture gradually to it. Now, just be a bit careful at this stage - when you add lemon juice to cream, it does tend to thicken it quite quickly, and you want this syllabub to be the same consistency as the custard - not over-whipped and stiff. You still want some movement in it.
5. Spoon the syllabub over the cake, piled on top. When you are putting the trifle together, try to show the different layers throughout, this makes for a lovely tall trifle with lots of colour.
6. Decorate with the roses - just popped on top like a little bouquet. It turns this trifle into a centrepiece, which looks fabulous on a summer table.

Lotte's Tips:

I call this trifle the cheat's version because it is literally assembled in minutes from easily available ingredients. You can make your own cake and custard, but honestly, you don't need to. When this pudding is put together all the flavours merge and I really believe you can't taste the difference. And as you know, I'm all for spending time with my friends when they come for a meal, not slaving away in the kitchen. 

Recipes taken from 'Lotte's Country Kitchen' by Lotte Duncan, priced £20, published by Absolute Press. Photography © Lara Holmes.