Preparing Trifle In Advance

[kah22]

I'm planning on making THIS TRIFLE www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/how_to_make_trifle_89033 for Christmas. What I'm wondering is how far in advance could I prepare the base. The trifle will be in a large crystal fruit bowl

The Base

• 500g/1lb 2oz frozen summer fruit (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants work well)
• 50g/2oz caster sugar, or more to taste
• 2 tbsp blackcurrant or raspberry liqueur (cassis or Chambord)
• 500ml/18fl oz cloudy apple juice
• 5 sheets leaf gelatine
• 250g/9oz madiera cake

What I've gathered from a few Google searches is that a jelly can be made up to four days in advance. I'd like to do it this Sunday evening and I'm wondering would a week be to long to leave it sitting in the fridge? Would the liqueur help prolong its shelf life?

Thanks for your advice

Kevin

Are you going to eat it all on Christmas Day? I wouldn't keep it much beyond a week, and would worry about waste if it wasn't all finished straightaway

Is there no way you can leave it until later in the week? I think a week's too long to leave made up jelly. And when you are making it, mix the water and jelly together in another bowl, leaving it to cool a bit before pouring it into the crystal bowl. Voice of experience.

Hmmmm. Tricky. I would definitely check the use by dates for the cream you are using for a start. The booze won't preserve the shelf life in any way. To be safe I would be make it on Thursday at the earliest. Also, when trifle sits any liquid sinks to the bottom and the texture becomes unpleasant and soupy.

Setting aside the issue of including jelly in trifle (much contested and I am firmly on the no jelly side) I wouldn't make trifle more than a day in advance. It's not a tricky pudding to put together (especially if you don't use jelly) and doesn't improve over time.