• Almond Cake
  • Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease and line the base of an 8 inch cake pan parchment paper.
  • Combine the ground almonds, all purpose flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and sea salt into a large mixing bowl, whisking to combine.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, butter and vanilla extract, then add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring until completely combined.
  • Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and use a spoon or an offset spatula to smooth the top.
  • Bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick that has been placed into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  • Remove the cake from the oven and let the cake cool for 20 minutes before removing the cake from the cake pan and placing on a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Orange Pastry Cream
  • Whisk together the whole milk, sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan. Whisk together the eggs in a separate bowl. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a slight boil, then slowly pour some of the milk mixture into the eggs while whisking – this technique is called tempering.
  • Return the mixture to your saucepan bringing it to a boil again while constantly mixing. It should look a little lumpy at first – yet the pastry cream will become smooth momentarily as you continue to cook and whisk vigorously. Lower the heat and cook for an additional minute while whisking and the pastry cream becomes smooth.
  • Remove the saucepan from heat and using a fine-mesh sieve, strain the pastry cream into a clean bowl before adding the softened butter, and orange zest. Stir the mixture until the butter has naturally melted into the pastry cream.
  • Pour the pastry cream into an air-tight container and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic onto the top of the cream so that you do not get a skin.
  • Refrigerate until cooled (about two hours) then make sure to whisk the cooled pastry cream until smooth before using.
• Brandy Whipped Cream
  • Combine heavy cream, and brandy in a mixing bowl.
  • Using a whisk or a whisk attachment to an electric mixer, whisk until the cream thickens. Keep an eye on the whipped cream as it will thicken quite quickly! Once you’ve reached medium peaks, stop whisking and set aside before layering the trifle.
• Trifle Assembly
  • Cut the almond cake into square pieces. Place half of the almond cake into the trifle dish. Top with half of the brandy, half of the caramel and half of the sliced almonds. Add 1/2 of the orange pastry cream and then 1/2 of the tart cherry filling on top. Then, add all of the brandy whipped cream on top before repeating the layering process once more with the remaining ingredients, finishing with the cherry filling. Place in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

Recipe courtesy of Emily Laurae, emilylaurae.com