There was a time not too long ago when no Christmas was complete without the addition of a gasp-worthy sherry trifle standing resplendently at the centre of the dinner table. Now, the fashion for this festive favourite is back - and we’re delighted!

However, as with all fashions, we love to give the classics a little update, so here we’ve replaced the sherry and given the traditional trifle recipe a delicious twist, with the addition of raspberry gin!

Fresh, sweet, creamy, and with just a little boozy warmth from the raspberry gin, this is one show-stopping dessert that will take pride of place on any Christmas dinner table.

Even better, this is a really simple recipe. (Christmas is stressful enough, after all, without worrying about baking sponge or making custard from scratch, right?)

Of course, we would be full of nothing but admiration should you want to tackle those elements - but here, we’ve taken the easy route and suggested using shop-bought cake and custard to create your masterpiece. So it’s really more of a question of assembly, than baking proper.

A couple of notes: we’ve suggested using swiss roll to achieve that fantastic swirl effect on the base of your trifle bowl, but there’s absolutely no reason you couldn’t use a pack or two of sponge fingers instead.

Similarly, we’ve gone all modern and put the jelly on the bottom of the trifle, but again, if you want to keep things simple or traditional, simply start by layering your sponge or swiss roll across the bottom and layer up with your jelly, custard and cream from there.

Please note - we’ve used raspberry gin in this recipe (we recommend Warner’s Raspberry Gin or Manchester Gin Raspberry Infused). You could, if you wish, use raspberry gin liqueur for a more syrupy, intensely sweet-tart hit of raspberry; although as liqueurs tend to be more powerful in flavour and significantly sweeter than gin, you might want to use less than our recommended measure below. We recommend taste-testing on a bit of spare swiss roll before you launch in on the real thing!

A final note: this is an ideal dessert to make in advance because it does benefit from being left overnight in the fridge to set, and to let the flavours really mingle. Which leaves you free to spend Christmas day kicking back with a G&T in hand!

Raspberry Gin Trifle

1 x pack of raspberry jelly
1 x raspberry (or strawberry) jam swiss roll (you probably won’t need the whole cake)
60-75ml raspberry gin, or to taste
350g raspberries
3-4 tbsp raspberry jam
600ml good-quality vanilla custard (homemade or shop-bought)
150-200ml double cream

Line the bottom of your trifle bowl with about half the raspberries - enough to form a loose layer. Make the jelly according to packet instructions and pour the jelly over; place in the fridge to set.

Put about half of the fresh raspberries (thawed frozen berries are fine too) into a heavy-bottomed or non-stick saucepan with the jam and a splash of water. Heat very gently over a low heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fruit has broken down a little and the mixture resembles a compote. Take off the heat and leave to cool.

Slice the Swiss roll into rounds about an inch thick. Drizzle the raspberry gin over sponge to lightly soak them (without getting the cake too soggy - you don’t want it to fall apart!).

Very carefully, place the slices gently around the base of your glass dish, on top of the jelly layer, so that the swirls are visible around the base. Splash a little more raspberry gin over the slices if you would like. You can add sponge rolls to the centre of the trifle, if you would like.

Spoon a layer of raspberry compote over the middle of the trifle, then cover in a thick blanket of set custard. Leave in the fridge for at least a few hours, or ideally overnight, to set.

Just before serving, lightly whip the double cream until it holds soft peaks. You can add a little icing sugar or a few drops more of raspberry gin to the cream before serving, if you would like.

Spoon the cream over the custard. Decorate with more fresh raspberries and a little grating of chocolate, if you so please, and serve.

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If you love raspberry gin as much as we do then why not have a go at making some yourself? Our recipe is super easy and really quick to do. Find out how to make your own raspberry gin by clicking here or on the image below:

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