Nanny Bush's trifle

Begin by making the sponge. Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5

Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and beat together for about 12 minutes, or until the mixture has doubled in size and leaves a thick ribbon trail. Lightly sift the flour into the bowl and delicately fold in with a plastic spatula, then gently stir in the melted butter

Pour into a lined baking tray big enough to make a cake that will line both of the rectangular moulds comfortably. Spread the sponge mix out over the whole tray in an even layer and bake for 8–10 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the oven onto a cooling rack covered with a cloth

Once the sponge has cooled, use one of the moulds to cut the cake to size. Place the moulds onto very flat baking trays, line with cling film and fit a rectangle of sponge into the base of each mould. Cover the sponge with a layer of raspberries

To make the strawberry jelly, begin by making a stock syrup. Place the sugar and water in a pan with the vanilla pod and seeds. Bring to the boil, simmer for 3 minutes then allow to cool slightly. Remove the vanilla pod

Place the strawberries, syrup and strawberry essence in a bowl, wrap the top of the bowl with cling film and place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water for 30–40 minutes – check back from time to time to make sure the pan is kept topped up. Strain the mixture through muslin cloth into a clean pan, bring to a very gently simmer and add the bloomed gelatine. Whisk until completely dissolved

Pour the mixture into a bowl set over ice and allow to lightly set, until it has the consistency of thick double cream. When the jelly is at the right consistency, pour over the raspberries and sponge to about halfway up the mould. Place into the fridge to completely set

For the custard, place the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water and set aside to bloom for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the sugar and egg yolks together in a bowl until light and creamy. Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan, then pour a small amount of the hot cream over the egg mixture and whisk well to temper the eggs. Slowly stream in the rest of the cream, whisking constantly, then pour the mixture back into the pan and cook gently until thickened (it's important not to let the custard boil). Pass through a sieve into a clean pan, squeeze the bloomed gelatine to drain and whisk into the mixture until completely dissolved. Add the Bristol cream sherry

Cool the custard in a bowl set over ice until the mixture has nearly set. Ensuring the jelly is set, pour the custard over the top in an even layer – this should fill to the top of mould. Place in the fridge to set

To serve, whisk the double cream and caster sugar together to form stiff peaks, then transfer to a piping bag. Remove the set trifles from the moulds and cut each into three portions using a hot knife (this will make it much easier to cut). Pipe the whipped cream on top and sprinkle with hundreds and thousands, popping candy, freeze-dried raspberries and mint tops, or anything else that takes your fancy