I was at a Woodspeen cookery course recently and Peter Eaton, the Head Chef there, casually mentioned a process almost as miraculous as turning water into wine…he explained that you could turn white chocolate into Caramac.

The Saucy Dressings’ Chief Taster does not like white chocolate so my ears pricked up. It was just a matter of putting it in the oven at 86°C for six hours…I thought it was worth experimenting. Peter also commented that they’d used the homemade Caramac as part of a sort of lychee and raspberry trifle.

I was intrigued. I’d just watched the film Love’s Kitchen. This film, reviewed by one critic as ‘warm and sweet… this is top cinematic comfort food’, (ok, so it’s a trifle [sorry!] soppy), was originally called No Ordinary Trifle, with the heroine further commenting “that is some seriously sexy pudding”. Just one taste of the chef-hero’s stunning pudding converts critics and recruits staff at the drop of a teaspoon. I thought the homemade Caramac was pretty sexy as well; and both lychees and raspberries are clearly sensuous so ….

…I thought I’d have a go myself…..

….and after some experimentation, this is what I concocted.

Recipe for lychee and raspberry tipsy trifle pierced with homemade Caramac shards

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 200g/7 oz good quality white chocolate
• 1 x 425g/15 oz (200g/7 oz drained) tin of lychees
• 4 x trifle sponges
• 150g/5 oz fresh raspberries
• 6 tbsp kirsch
• 400 ml/1⅔ cups double cream

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 86°C (it doesn’t need to be so exact – I use my aga warming oven).
2. Put the chocolate on a piece of clean silicone paper on a baking tray and put it in the oven for six hours – until, when you break it, you see the inside has gone a dark caramel colour.
3. Cut the lychees in half (reserve the liquid).
4. Break up the trifle sponge and distribute half of it between four tall glasses.
5. Pour two tablespoons of lychee juice over each.
6. Break up the caramac and reserve about twelve of the best shards. Chop the rest into smaller pieces, and distribute half of them between the glasses.
7. Whisk the cream, VERY loosely – it should only just be holding its shape. Pour a bit less than half into the four glasses.
8. Now distribute the rest of the trifle.
9. Moisten each with 1½ tbsps. of kirsch.
10. Top with most of the rest of the raspberries (save about eight of the ones in best shape for garnish) and the rest of the lychees.
11. Pour over the rest of the cream, and garnish with the remaining raspberries and the spectacular shards of caramelised chocolate.

Film clip to watch

In this trailer for Love’s Kitchen you will see the constantly reappearing ‘no ordinary trifle’.