Trifle means different things to different people. I realised this when we put it on the menu at the Hinds Head, our pub in Bray. We layered alcohol-soaked sponge fingers with custard, fruit and a syllabub flavoured with sherry, cider and wine, then topped it with crushed ratafia biscuits and slivered almonds. I thought no trifle aficionado could fail to appreciate it.

I was wrong. One person would tell me there was not enough alcohol, the next that there was too much. One would say there was not enough fruit, while another would say there shouldn’t be any. And that was before we even got to custard or hundreds and thousands.

That was it. I had to find the authentic trifle recipe. My ice-cream-fanatic friend, Robin Weir, introduced me to the food historian Ivan Day, who told me that the one thing the great British trifle shouldn’t contain was fruit. Many older recipes call for naples biscuits (now replaced by sponge fingers), but in a version from The Accomplisht Cook by Robert May, published in the 1660s, there are no fruit or biscuits of any sort. In fact, it is more like a junket (I will be talking about these in later articles). But by 1783, and the first edition of John Farley’s London Art of Cookery, redcurrant jelly and biscuits, or dried sponge, had come into the recipe.

Anyway, that’s probably enough history. Here are some great trifle recipes that are different enough to keep everyone happy. By the way, it may seem strange to be starting off with tiramisu, but it is technically a form of trifle, and in any case, it is so delicious, I had to include it. Let me know how you get on: heston@sunday-times.co.uk.

TIRAMISU

One of the key things for me is the element of texture given by the chopped chocolate in this recipe — choose a good-quality one that you really want to eat.

Serves 4 (but you will probably want it all for yourself)

75g good-quality chocolate
50g unrefined caster sugar
235ml double cream, chilled
265g mascarpone
300ml black coffee, cold and fairly strong
4 tbsp (or to taste) marsala or amaretto (optional)
125g sponge fingers Cocoa powder

Chop the chocolate with a knife, or if you prefer, you can grate it, then leave in a cool place.

Dissolve the sugar in 100ml of the double cream over a gentle heat, then set aside to cool. Lightly whip the remaining cream in a cold bowl and set aside.

Work the mascarpone with a spoon until it has loosened up a little, then carefully incorporate the whipped cream and the cooled sweetened cream. Add 4 tbsp of the coffee to taste — more if you prefer. It is important to add enough to get the flavour you want, but not so much that it loosens the mix. Pour the rest of the coffee and the alcohol, if using, into a flat- bottomed bowl large enough to lay the fingers in. Place a few fingers in the coffee mix and turn over a few times — they need to be soaked. Place on a plate, and repeat until all the fingers are done. If necessary, make more coffee.

Once soaked, place enough fingers in the bottom of a serving bowl to form a single layer. Spread a quarter of the cream mixture over them and smooth out, then sprinkle with some cocoa powder and a third of the chocolate. Repeat until all the cream is used up. You should have four layers of cream and three of the cocoa-chocolate mix. Smooth over the top layer of cream and place in the fridge for a couple of hours. Just before serving, generously dust with cocoa powder.

To win dinner for four at Heston Blumenthal’s award-winning restaurant, The Fat Duck, in Bray, visit www.timesonline.co.uk/hestonb. Competition ends at midnight on August 8

Next week: a deliciously simple salad

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