The Art of Layering: A Trifle That's Anything But Ordinary

It's a trifle! It's got all of these layers. The first layer consists of ladyfingers, which provide a delicate and subtle base for the dish. On top of this layer, a rich and fruity jam is carefully placed, adding a burst of flavor and sweetness to the mix. And then, to add an extra layer of complexity, a homemade custard made from scratch is poured on top, bringing a creamy texture and depth of flavor to the trifle.

But that's not all - the layers continue with raspberries more ladyfingers, creating a delightful contrast of textures and flavors. But wait, there's another surprise in store! The creator of this masterpiece has decided to add beef sautéed with peas and onions, taking the dish in an entirely unexpected direction. It may sound unconventional, but trust us when we say that it's a game-changer.

As we take a closer look at the layers of this trifle, we're reminded of the importance of layering in cooking. A good trifle is all about balance and harmony - each layer must complement the others to create a cohesive and delicious whole. But what happens when we throw out the rulebook and add some unexpected ingredients? That's exactly what the creator of this trifle has done, resulting in a dish that's both fascinating and flawed.

Let's start by making our homemade custard, which is the crowning glory of this trifle. We're going to place three and a half cups of milk into a medium saucepan, which will eventually spill over - but don't worry, it's all part of the process! In an auxiliary bowl, we combine one cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of corn starch, and a pinch of kosher salt. Whisking these ingredients together is crucial to create a smooth and even mixture.

Next, we add five whole egg yolks, scraping every last bit of them into the mixture before whisking until they're fully incorporated. The resulting pale paste is then tempered with the milk, which is heated gently over medium-low heat until it reaches a steamy consistency. This tempering process ensures that the eggs don't cook too quickly, preventing them from scrambling and ruining the custard.

As we slowly add the tempered egg mixture back to the milk, whisking everything constantly to ensure smooth integration, we can feel the magic happening. A dollop of vanilla paste is added to give the custard a hint of sweetness, before it's cooked gently over medium-low heat until it reaches the perfect thickness.

But just as we're about to finish off our homemade custard, Mary Berry walks into view, her eyes fixed on my creme pat. It seems that she's not impressed with the texture - at least, not yet! We'll have to wait and see what she has to say, but for now, let's focus on finishing off this trifle.

The Trifle That Tastes Like Feet

As we assemble our layers, we can't help but feel a sense of excitement and trepidation. What will the finished dish taste like? Will it be a sweet and satisfying treat, or something entirely different? The answer, much to our surprise, is that it tastes...interesting.

The combination of flavors and textures is certainly unique, with the sweetness of the jam and custard offset by the savory flavor of the beef and peas. It's not exactly what we would call "tasty" - in fact, some might even say it's a bit like eating feet! But hey, that's all part of the charm, right?

Shepherd's Pie: A Half-Baked Idea

As we continue to assemble our trifle, we notice that it's been compared to half a shepherd's pie. Now, we're not sure what that means exactly - but we do know that it sounds like a delicious and satisfying dish. So, let's see if we can make something similar.

To start, we need some ground meat - in this case, beef. We'll chop it up into small pieces and sauté it with some peas and onions until it's nice and tender. Then, we'll mix everything together with some flour to thicken the sauce, before topping it all off with a layer of mashed potatoes.

It may not be the most elegant dish - but hey, that's what shepherd's pie is all about, right? It's comfort food at its finest, and our half-baked attempt is sure to warm even the coldest of hearts.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enIt's a trifle! It's got all of these layers. First, there's a layer of ladyfingersThen a layer of jam then custard, which I made from scratchThen raspberries more ladyfingers, then beef sauteed with peas and onions ohMy god she she made half an English trifle andHalf a shepherd's pieTastes like feetHey, what's up guys welcome back to binging with babish where this weekWe're taking a look at Rachel's trifle a dish that relies on the virtue of the idea that Jam good meat goodSo in other words a dish that's going to fail miserably. Let's start by making our homemade custardWe're gonna place three and a half cups well three and a quarter cups after we've spilled a bunch of whole milk into a mediumSaucepan, then and an auxilary Bowl. We're going to combine onecup of sugar 1/2 cup of corn starch and a good pinch of kosher saltWe're gonna whisk that to combine before adding 5 whole eggYolks scraping every last little bit in there and whisking to a pale paste, then once our milk gets a little bit steamyWe're going to add about a cupvery slowly to temper at the mixture temper our eggs make sure that they don't cook before adding the tempered egg mixture back to themilk whisking everything constantly got to keep whisking at a solid dollop of vanilla paste cook gently over medium-low heat until thickened andFinish with maybe 3 or 4 tablespoons of butterOkay, hang on a second Mary Berry's walking over to my table to taste my creme pat.\"The creme pat is terribly scrubby,\" well sorry Mary, but I'm going to ruin it by adding ground beef to this trifleSo we're gonna start by sauteing as Rachael described some onionsJust letting them sweat a little bit before removing from the pot and browning a whole bunch of ground beef.I'd give you measurements for all this stuffbut I'd hope that you're not gonna try this in real life once the beef is browned add the onions back to the party anda whole bunch of frozen, Englishpeas cook until heated through and then we're gonna try to make the most basic of shepherd's pie filling by adding a few tablespoons offlourcooking to get rid of some of that raw flour taste and then slowly adding a bunch of beef stock until aThick gravy is formed seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper not that it mattersBut make sure you scrape up all that good stuff from the bottom of the pot, and it's time to start assembling our trifleLet's start with a layer of ladyfingers a layer of jamcustard which by the way we made from scratch just half the batch for now because we need the rest for the topping then aLayer of fresh raspberries this trifle is starting to look promising another layer of ladyfingersThis is going to act as a buffer from the all the moisture of our ground beefmixture spread it on evenly making sure to leave a little room at the top for another layer ofcreme pat - smooth it out and then top with a layer ofSliced bananas doesn't that just look lovely now this being a trifleWe need to let those ladyfingers absorb some of the moistureSo we're refrigerating this for about four hours beforeFinally digging in I realize now that I forgot the whipped cream that Rachael added, but I'm sure this is still gonnaBe really really good without itTrying to keep it down trying to swallow it trying to chew it so I can't do it had to spit it out does itTaste like feet no, but it tastes like ground beef custard and bananasSo it's absolutely disgusting making a halfway edible version of this is going to be a challengeSo let's start by mincing up a whole chuck roastNice small bite-size pieces that we're going to brown a little bit of olive oil until we get some nice color on thereIt's a nice fond on the bottom of the pot into which we're going to dump a chopped onionPaying no attention to the bits of meat stuck to the outside of the potWe're going to add a few chopped mushrooms and a finely chopped carrot. Okay. We got rid of that stray meat nowWe're going to deglaze with about a half a cup of red wine and a half a cup to a cup of beef stockWe're then going to add a teaspoon each freshly chopped. Thyme rosemary and sage maybe a tablespoon of tomato pasteDon't forget to scrape your fond adding the beef back to the mixture supplementing with extra broth if necessaryPartially covering and simmering for two hours thickening with cornstarch at the end of cooking nowIt's time to make our stand in for ladyfingers. I thought cornbread would be a good way to goI'm heating two tablespoons each vegetable oil and butter in a 10-inch skillet in a 400 degree FahrenheitI'm measuring out eleven and a half ounces of cornmeal. Maybe two ounces of all-purpose flour a good pinch of sugarsmaller pinch of salt two teaspoons of baking powder a teaspoon of baking sodaWhisk until thoroughly combined before adding 1/2 cup of whole milk and a cup of buttermilkYou could also optionally use sour creamWe're gonna add the first of two eggsCracking with two hands before realizing that we're on camera we should crack with one hand and whisk until thoroughly combined beforeRemoving our preheated pan from the oven and pouring in our batter ideally you should hear a nice sizzleAs the batter hits the hot oil and butter spread around evenly and place back in the oven for35 to 40 minutes or until a tester comes out clean next up the raspberry jam surrogateWe're gonna start by heatingHalf a pint of raspberries and maybe a half a cup of wine and a little splash of balsamic vinegar a big pinch of sugarlittle pinch of salt crush up those raspberries and cook over medium heat for30 to 40 minutes or until thick and jam like last, but not least the issue of custardWe're just going to make a roux here out of four tablespoons each butter and flourDrizzling in two to two and a half cups of whole milk until a thick bechamelForms that were going to grate a bit of whole nutmeg into it's always welcomed in bechamelSeason with a bit of salt and season with a bit of salt and cook until thick and custard-likeAdding an egg once cool to make it more like a moussaka topping now. It's time to assembleWe're filling a buttered casserole with our beef stew mixture topping with slices of our cornbreadTopping that with our jammy sort of raspberry sauce and topping that with our bechamel custardThing then for another hit of flavor and color going to top that with a healthy grading of romano cheesethat's going to turn nice and brown during its 30 minutes stint in a350 degree oven now if this weren't already enough of a culinary mishmashIt's time to addressThe bananas that Rachael puts on top the closest thing that I can think of that would be a savory equivalent to that would beTostones so we are frying some slices of green plantain in a bit of vegetable oil taking them out of the oilDraining them on paper towels smashing them and then dipping them in some ice water beforeRefrying them once more. I kind of wish we could just eat these because I love tostones, they're delicious and goEspecially well with a bit of mojo sauce but sadly that's not what we're doing todayWe're making a savory topping for our savory trifle Frankenstein's monsterWhich is coming out of the oven and being left to cool at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before?Digging in right away the color scheme not very appealingBut let's see what happens when we top it fried to stone it now that doesn't help much eitherSort of brown and yellow and red and to be honest it doesn't taste awesome, but it's totally palatable, which makes it a damnSight better than Rachel's trifle, and after having worked on this for two hoursSince finishing that other sweet and salty monstrosity. I pretty readily wolfed it downWe'll see if I can make this thing halfway decent next yearHey guys. I was recently asked to take part in a cooking challenge called ad-lib dinner party which was presented by GeicoIt was a lot of fun to filmI really had to think of my feet to come up with recipes on the fly I ended up making a delicious ElotesSoup and, well, check out the video, and you'll see I've put a link in the description belowSo it's easy to get to and if anything from the video looks especially good to youYou'll be able to find the recipes for everything I made think of it as a little holiday bonus babish\n"