When I saw the announcement for the winner of the competition for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee pudding, I knew I had to try making it! The winner of the competition (Jemma Melvin) created the original recipe for this lemon Swiss roll & amaretti trifle. There are 7 components so it’s an absolute beast of a recipe and quite technique heavy. The great thing about it is that you could take pretty much any component in this recipe and use a shop-bought version which means you can make the prep as easy or challenging as you like!
Step-by-step video for the Jubilee Pudding – Lemon Swiss Roll & Amaretti Trifle:
As each component can be a bit tricky, I’ve done a step-by-step recipe below with detailed instructions for each part. If you look below the recipe card, there are step-by-step images for each component. Otherwise, check out the video below showing exactly how to make everything for this Swiss roll trifle! You can use the timestamps in the video to jump to specific sections as you need.
How to make Jubilee Pudding – Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle
Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle (Jubilee Pudding)
Ingredients
St. Clement's jelly:
- 6 leaves gelatine (see notes for vegetarian version)
- 400 ml water
- 150 g golden caster sugar, caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 6 strips lemon zest (from unwaxed lemons)
- 6 strips orange zest
- 150 ml lemon juice freshly squeezed (around 4 lemons)
- 150 ml orange juice freshly squeezed (around 3 oranges)
Lemon curd:
- 135 g granulated sugar, caster sugar or golden caster sugar
- 85 g salted butter softened
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 lemon, zest finely grated
- 80 ml lemon juice freshly squeezed
Swiss roll cakes:
- 4 large eggs
- 100 g caster sugar, golden caster sugar or granulated sugar plus some for rolling
- 100 g white self-raising flour (see notes for substitutes)
Custard:
- 25 g golden caster sugar, caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 10 g (1 tbsp) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 425 ml double cream (heavy cream)
Amaretti biscuits:
- 2 large egg whites
- 170 g caster sugar or golden caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 170 g ground almonds (almond flour)
- 1 tbsp amaretto OR ¼ tsp almond extract
Chunky mandarin coulis:
- 4 tins (298g each) mandarin segments in juice drained
- 45 g caster sugar, golden caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 10 g arrowroot (see notes for substitute)
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
To assemble:
- 200 g white chocolate
- 50 g chopped mixed peel (candied orange & lemon zest)
- 1 tbsp caster sugar or golden caster sugar
- 300 ml double cream (heavy cream) or whipping cream
Instructions
For the St. Clement's jelly:
- Soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for around 5 minutes, until softened.6 leaves gelatine
- Place the 400ml water, sugar, lemon zest strips and orange zest strips into a medium pot. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat on the stove, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat. Fish out the citrus peel and discard.400 ml water, 150 g golden caster sugar, caster sugar or granulated sugar, 6 strips orange zest, 6 strips lemon zest
- Remove the softened gelatine from the bowl of cold water, squeezing to drain excess water. Stir the gelatine into the pot of warm sugar mixture until fully melted and mixed. Finally, stir in the lemon juice and orange juice. Set aside at room temperature to cool.150 ml lemon juice, 150 ml orange juice
For the lemon curd (can be made 5 days ahead):
- Combine the sugar, butter, egg yolks, grated lemon zest and lemon juice in a medium heatproof bowl. Set this over a pot of gently simmering water on the stove. Use a whisk or spatula to stir over a low heat until thickened – around 15 minutes.135 g granulated sugar, caster sugar or golden caster sugar, 85 g salted butter, 4 large egg yolks, 1 lemon, zest finely grated, 80 ml lemon juice
- To test if the curd is fully thickened, coat the back of a spoon with some curd then run your finger through it – if the line remains, the curd is thick enough! If the curd runs and fills the line, you need to keep cooking it.
- Set aside at room temperature to cool (if you need it to cool quickly, spread the curd into a wide, shallow dish like a roasting tin).
- If you're making this ahead of time: transfer the curd to a sterile jar, allow to cool, then chill in the fridge for up to 5 days.
For the Swiss roll cakes (can be made 1 day ahead):
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C non-fan). Grease 2 rimmed baking trays/Swiss roll tins (around 23cm by 32cm) with a bit of butter and line each with a sling of baking paper. Set aside.
- Combine the eggs and sugar in a large bowl and whisk using electric beaters until very thick, pale and at least tripled in volume – around 5 minutes.4 large eggs, 100 g caster sugar, golden caster sugar or granulated sugar
- Add the self-raising flour to the bowl then gently fold together with a spatula or metal spoon until no floury streaks remain. Divide the batter between the two prepared baking trays and spread out to cover the entire tray.100 g white self-raising flour
- Bake the cakes for 10-12 minutes, until golden-brown on top and cooked through.
- As the cakes bake, cut two large pieces of baking paper and sprinkle them with a bit of sugar (caster sugar, preferably).
- Once the cakes have baked, remove from the trays and flip onto the pieces of sugar-sprinkled baking paper. Use a pair of scissors to trim the very edges of the cakes.
- Starting at the short edge of a cake, roll up WITH the baking paper (this stops the cake sticking to itself) into a tight log. Repeat with the second cake then set them aside, seam side down, to cool.
- If you're making this ahead of time: wrap the rolled up cakes with their baking paper in clingfilm, tightly. Leave at room temperature for up to 1 day.
For the custard (can be made 3 days ahead):
- In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, cornflour, egg yolks and lemon extract, stirring until smooth. Set aside.25 g golden caster sugar, caster sugar or granulated sugar, 10 g (1 tbsp) cornflour (cornstarch), 3 large egg yolks, 1 tsp lemon extract
- Heat the double cream in a medium pot over a medium-low heat until gently steaming. Remove from the heat and slowly pour the warm cream into the egg yolk mixture whilst stirring (a whisk is best for this). Once fully combined, pour this mixture back into the pot.425 ml double cream (heavy cream)
- Set the pot over a low heat on the stove and stir constantly with a whisk or spatula, making sure you're scraping the sides and base of the pot, until the custard has thickened. You can test if it's ready using the same technique as discussed above for the lemon curd.
- Scrape the custard into a jug or bowl. Press a piece of baking paper (or cling film) onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin forming. Set aside to cool at room temperature then chill in the fridge until needed.
- If you're making this ahead of time: chill in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days.
Fill the Swiss rolls:
- By now the Swiss roll cakes and lemon curd should have fully cooled. Gently unroll the cakes and remove the baking paper. Divide the cooled lemon curd between each cake and spread over the entire surface. Roll the cakes back up into tight logs.
- Thinly slice one of the cakes into 2.5cm slices – a serrated knife is recommended for this! With the second cake, cut into thicker slices (around 4cm thick).
- Take the thinner slices of Swiss roll and press them so their cut side is against the side of your trifle dish. Use the remaining thick slices of Swiss roll to layer into the base of the trifle dish (I did two layers here).
- Pour the cooled St. Clement's jelly into the trifle dish over the cake. Chill in the fridge until set – around 2-3 hours or up to 24 hours.
For the amaretti biscuits (can be made up to 2 weeks in advance):
- If your oven isn't preheated yet, preheat it to 160°C fan (180°C non-fan). Line a baking tray with baking paper. Lightly brush the baking paper with oil (optional – I don't think this is necessary).
- Whisk the egg whites in a large, clean bowl using electric beaters until you get stiff peaks. Add the sugar, ground almonds and amaretto (or almond extract) and mix together to get a sticky dough.2 large egg whites, 170 g caster sugar or golden caster sugar (superfine sugar), 170 g ground almonds (almond flour), 1 tbsp amaretto OR ¼ tsp almond extract
- Take heaped teaspoons of the dough and shape into rough balls. Place onto the lined baking sheet, spacing them ~3cm apart as they spread when baking. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden all over. Set aside to cool.
- If making in advance: transfer the cooled amaretti to an airtight container and keep at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
For the chunky mandarin coulis:
- Place half of the drained mandarins into a medium pot with the sugar. Warm over a medium-low heat on the stove, stirring occasionally, until the mandarins have broken down and released lots of juice. Remove from the heat.4 tins (298g each) mandarin segments in juice, 45 g caster sugar, golden caster sugar or granulated sugar
- In a small bowl, combine the arrowroot and cold water, stirring until smooth. Pour this into the pot of broken down mandarins, along with the lemon juice, and return to the heat. Cook over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until very thick (around 2 minutes). Remove from the heat and tip into a large bowl.10 g arrowroot, 2 tbsp cold water, 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Add the remaining drained mandarins to the bowl and stir together then set aside to cool.4 tins (298g each) mandarin segments in juice
For the decoration:
- Break the white chocolate into small pieces and place into a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water on the stove. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is fully melted.200 g white chocolate
- While the chocolate is melting, toss the chopped mixed peel with the caster sugar (only do this if your mixed peel is sticky/wet) and set aside.50 g chopped mixed peel (candied orange & lemon zest), 1 tbsp caster sugar or golden caster sugar
- Spread the melted chocolate out onto small baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle with the mixed peel then chill in the fridge or freezer until fully set. Cut into shards using a sharp knife.
To assemble:
- Once the jelly has set remove the trifle from the fridge. Whip the cream in a large bowl until you get soft peaks.300 ml double cream (heavy cream) or whipping cream
- CUSTARD: Uncover the custard and give it a good stir then pour this into the trifle dish, spreading it out into an even layer.
- AMARETTI: top the custard with a single layer of amaretti biscuits, saving a few for the top.
- MANDARIN COULIS: spread the mandarin coulis over the amaretti biscuits.
- WHIPPED CREAM, WHITE CHOCOLATE, AMARETTI: spread the whipped cream over the mandarin coulis then top with the shards of white chocolate and the remaining amaretti biscuits.
- Serve the trifle right away or chill in the fridge for up to 12 hours before serving.
Video
Notes
More Celebratory Recipes:
- Tiramisu Swiss Roll Cake
- Union Jack Treacle Tart
- Vertical Layer Carrot Cake
- Walnut Whip Cake
- Berry Meringue Cakes
Step-by-step images for how to make Lemon Swiss Roll & Amaretti Trifle
How to make St. Clement’s Jelly
1. Soak the gelatine in a small bowl of cold water.
2. Peel the strips of zest from the lemons and oranges.
3. Place the citrus zest strips, sugar and water into a small pan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat.
4. Remove the citrus zest from the pot and discard.
5. Squeeze the soaked gelatine to remove excess water from it.
6. Add the soaked gelatine to the pot of warm syrup.
7. Stir the gelatine in until fully melted and combined.
8. Pour in the lemon juice and orange juice then set aside at room temp to cool.
How to make Swiss roll cake
1. Grease the Swiss roll tins or rimmed baking sheets with softened butter.
2. Add a sling of baking paper to each tin.
3. Add eggs and sugar to a large bowl.
4. Whisk together with electric beaters. It’ll look frothy like this at first.
5. After 5 minutes, the mixture should look smoother and fluffier.
6. Fold in the self-raising flour.
7. Divide the batter between the prepared tins and spread out into an even layer.
8. Bake at 160C fan (180C non-fan) for 10-12 minutes until golden brown on top and cooked through.
9. Sprinkle two large pieces of baking paper with sugar.
10a. Whilst the cake is still warm, remove from the tin.
10b. Flip the warm cake onto the sugar-sprinkled baking paper.
11. Peel away the top layer of baking paper.
12. Use a pair of scissors to trim the edges of the cake.
13. Roll the warm cake up tightly with the baking paper (this prevents the cake sticking to itself). Set aside, seam side down, at room temp to cool.
How to make lemon curd
1. Combine the sugar, butter, egg yolks, lemon zest and lemon juice in a heatproof bowl.
2. Set the bowl over a pot of gently simmering water on the stove.
3. Stir together – the butter may break down into clumps and make the mixture look curdled, this is fine.
4. Continue to stir the mixture often (a whisk is best here) until smooth. Keep cooking until thickened then remove the bowl from the pot and set aside to cool.
5. To test if the lemon curd has thickened properly, use some to coat the back of a spoon and run your finger down it in a line. If the line remains, it’s cooked enough! If not, return the bowl to the pot of simmering water and continue to cook until thickened.
6. If you need the curd to cool quickly, transfer to a wide, shallow dish/bowl (e.g. a roasting tin) and set aside to cool at room temp.
(If you have any lemon curd leftover, try making these lemon meringue pie ice cream sandwiches!)
How to fill and cut Swiss roll cake
1. Once the cakes and curd have cooled we can fill the cakes. Unroll each cake and dollop half of the lemon curd onto it.
2. Spread the curd evenly over the entire surface of the cake.
3. Roll the cake up into a tight log.
4. Repeat with the second cake.
5. Use a serrated knife to cut one cake into 2.5cm thick slices, and the other cake into 4cm thick slices.
(For more Swiss Roll recipes, try my vertically layered tree-stump yule log)
How to make amaretti biscuits:
1. Whisk the egg whites in a large, clean bowl with electric beaters.
2. You want them to reach ‘stiff peaks’ where the mixture forms a peak which doesn’t flop over (see how the peaks are remaining upright and pointy on the beaters above).
3. Add the sugar to the bowl.
4. Add the ground almonds to the bowl.
5. Add the amaretto (or almond extract) to the bowl.
6. Mix together to get a sticky dough.
7. Roll heaped teaspoons of the dough into balls.
8. Place onto a lined baking tray, spacing them a few centimetres apart.
9. Bake at 160C fan (180C non fan) for 15-20 minutes, until golden all over.
How to make custard
1. Combine the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and lemon extract in a heatproof bowl.
2. Stir together until smooth.
3. Warm some double cream in a medium pot until gently steaming then gradually whisk this into the egg yolk mixture.
4. Pour the mixture back into the pot and stir over a low heat until thickened.
5. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl or jug and press a piece of baking paper or cling film onto the surface of the custard (to prevent a skin forming). Set aside to cool then chill until needed.
(Leftover custard goes so well with my Gooseberry Brown Butter Tart)
How to make chunky mandarin coulis
1. Drain the tinned mandarins, discarding the juice.
2. Add half of the drained mandarins along with the sugar to a small pot.
2. Heat on the stove, stirring occasionally, until the mandarins have broken down and released lots of juice.
3. Combine the arrowroot and cold water in a small bowl.
4. Slake the arrowroot (stir together with the cold water to get a smooth slurry.
5. Pour the slurry and lemon juice into the mandarins in the pot and stir together.
6. Return to the heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened.
7. Remove from the heat, tip into a bowl and add the remaining drained mandarins.
8. Mix together until combined then set aside to cool.
How to make jewelled white chocolate bark
1. Break the white chocolate into small pieces and place into a heatproof bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water. Allow to melt fully, stirring occasionally then remove from the heat.
2. If the candied citrus peel is sticky/wet, toss it in a bit of caster sugar.
3. Spread the chocolate out onto a piece of baking paper and sprinkle with the candied citrus peel. Chill until set.
4. Once set, cut into shards with a sharp knife
How to assemble Lemon Swiss Roll & Amaretti Trifle
1. Press the thinner slices of cut Swiss roll cake so that their cut sides are against the wall of the trifle bowl.
2. Fill in the middle with the thicker slices of Swiss roll cake (I did two layers to fill it up).
3. Pour the cooled jelly mixture on top then chill in the fridge until the jelly has set (3 hours).
4. Once the jelly has set, pour the custard on top.
5. Add a layer of amaretti biscuits, saving a few for decorating the top.
6. Spread the mandarin coulis on top of the amaretti biscuits.
7. Whip the cream until you get soft peaks.
8. Spread the whipped cream over the mandarin coulis.
9. Decorate the top of the trifle with the white chocolate shards (and amaretti biscuits) then serve.
Thank you so much for adding all the images for each part. It s really useful to see what its meant to look like at each stage
It’s a shame the winning pudding has so many complicated components. Only saved by the fact that you can buy most of the components pre made!! I thought the tart would have been a better choice and easier to make.
Wow!! Thank you for such detailed instructions on how to make this trifle.. I will be making it at the weekend. 😊
Thanks, Jo! So glad it’s helpful to you
I made this in individual glasses. As I was catering for 30. I used shop bought lemon swiss rolls, jelly and ameretti biscuits and made the custard, coulis and chocolate shards from scratch. I put a slice of swiss roll in the bottom of each glass which I laced with lemoncello and I also added a little orange liqueur to the coulis just to add a bit of a kick!
Great idea! I like the drama of having it in a trifle dish but logistically I think individual servings work way better for trifle. Sounds delicious
Can this be made in advance?
Thank you so much for breaking this down step-by-step! I really wanted to try this recipe, but the original version was a bit vague (for example, it wasn’t clear whether you needed 150ml each of lemon and orange juice for the jelly or 150ml total) and you have described it so much better. Can’t wait to try this out!
Not enough custard or cream for a 20-person trifle. I’ve doubled up on both.
Wayyy to complicated for something that could be simply made with a pre bought Swiss roll, amaretto biscuits, custard, jelly, & mandarin oranges .. the end result is a very average lemon pudding .. nothing special except the whole faff of home making stuff that’s easily sourced in Tesco/Sainsburys/Lidle/Spar etc etc.
A waste of time.
Sorry ..
These are the best clear and easy to understand instructions for how to make the Jubilee Lemon Swiss roll and Amaretti Trifle. Thank you so much. You made it such a breeze!
Thanks so much, Kat! I’m so pleased it was useful to you 🙂
Great recipe. Have made three. 1. As otiginal, 2. Used glacé cherries as “rubies” for the crown for children and 3. Stem sugared crystallised ginger for other adults. Not surprised this won the competition.
wow that’s impressive! Love the idea of the candied ginger – would go so well with the lemony flavours.
I followed the recipe and won the Jubilee Pudding competition at the Algonquin Hotel in Saint Andrews, NB, Canada. Thanks for providing me with such a wonderful challenge!
Hello…I’ve been preparing to make this for a special reunion of high school ladies this week. I’ve printed up the recipe, read it through many times, and watched some videos.
I calculated conversions to US measurements and baked a test Swiss Sponge, which came out quite nice. I made the Amaretti biscuits yesterday, but they spread out and were flat. I just made them a second time, and they’re flat again. Both batches have a very nice, delicate flavor, but they’re definitely not the nicely rounded biscuits shown in the pictures. Perhaps I should have refrigerated the dough prior to scooping and baking? Not in the recipe instructions, but many doughs do benefit from a chill. Suggestions?
Here is what happened, Denise. The rule of thumb is that an egg white of a large egg weighs 40 grams. But in reality, that 80 grams is too wet and will cause them to flatten as they did in my first go round. I went with two egg whites with a weight of around 60 grams and they formed perfectly, just like in the photo. If your egg whites weigh more than 60, consider adding more almond flour.
Everything turned out beautifully, except the cakes. That’s my fault. In the US, baking sheets are a different size, and I didn’t measure, even though you listed the dimensions, so there was not enough batter for two cakes. Good thing it’s a trifle! Cake scraps can hide in the middle 🙂 I also did the agar substitution for my vegetarian friend. I loathe canned mandarin oranges so I substituted fresh orange and clementine segments and took cut all the membranes out with a sharp knife.
Firstly, how far in advance can the mandarin coulis be made?
Secondly, I found the mandarin coulis did not set enough so had to use much more cornflour. I will buy and use arrowroot next time but still not confident that the quantities in the above recipe will thicken the mixture enough. Please helo me with this.
Otherwise, my guests absolutely
loved this trifle!
Meant to say!
Thank you for breaking this down, made it for the jubilee and you breaking it down was a saviour! It was great, but probably never again😂
I made this ! It was a challenge but your post really helped, thank you. It was so satisfying to see the end result and It was a great hit with everybody . I made it again and couldn’t find your post so it very nearly ended up a complete disaster, luckily I found the post again at the compote stage and managed to save the day!!
I’m not a fan of candied peel so I use lemon and orange fruit pastilles. I’ve also made mini versions which look really impressive. I’m just prepping for another party this weekend ! This has almost become my signature dish, everybody loves it ! I couldn’t do it without your post though so thanks again Izy x