Mary Berry's Ultimate Christmas

This is Christmas and this is special. First of all, I've drained my pears. Now, I'm not using fresh pears, the canned ones are perfect. And then, I've got some cherries here, they're maraschino cherries, they're the sort that come in a little jar, and you often pop them into a drink. Half the cherries. I like a nice fruity flavor to my trifle. And cut the pears into generous chunks. And now, we come to the sponges. Now, these are trifle sponges, I split them in half and fill them with jam. If you can't get trifle sponges, you could use slices of sponge and then cut each slice in half. (upbeat music) And then, you just sandwich them together. (upbeat music) Cut the filled sponges in half length ways. You get a nice clean cut like that, and if you push it to the side, you'll see it through and it looks pretty good. Then put half the pears in the base of the dish. And then you just put that around the edge and give it a push into the side like that. Top with a second layer of sponges. I'm just checking that I've got these lovely jammy layers, so that you can see through, and I think it makes the trifle. Place any remaining sponges in the middle and surround with crunchy amaretto biscuits. When they go into the trifle, they take up all the sherry and flavorings, and they'll become a bit spongy. Next, top with the cherries and the remaining pears to create a surprise fruity center. Now, we come to the boozy part. I've always put sherry, and that's what mom used to put in, and I did notice there was always a glass alongside it, I think it helped her through the day. If you're making it for very young children, you could use orange juice. If you haven't got sherry, you could use brandy. Measure five tablespoons of sherry into a jug and make up to 2/3 of a cup with the reserved pear syrup. (upbeat music) You know, that to me smells of parties and festivities. Absolutely wonderful. Push the amaretti biscuits into the liquid to soak up the flavor. That looks great, you can clearly see the layered sponge with the strawberry jam. So, now on to the custard topping. I'm using a can of custard, because it's thick, and then I'm going to enrich it with lots of double cream. It's Christmas, we're enriching everything, it's gonna be wonderful. (upbeat music) First whisk 2/3 of a cup of double cream to soft peaks. Then, stir it through the custard. This is beautifully creamy and rich. And smooth it generously onto the trifle. Doesn't that look great? That just needs to set a bit, so pop it in the fridge for an hour or so.