A lemon and amaretti Swiss roll trifle is to be the official pudding for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee after beating thousands of people in a competition to find a new royal dessert.
Jemma Melvin, a copywriter from Southport, Merseyside, who only decided to enter after a friend suggested it to her, said winning the contest was “surreal”.
Some 5,000 people aged between eight to 108 entered the national competition to commemorate the Queen’s 70-year reign.
The entries were narrowed down to a final five, who competed in a dedicated TV show screened on BBC One.
The finalists’ puddings were tasted by a panel of judges led by Dame Mary Berry and Masterchef: The Professionals judge Monica Galetti.
“I didn’t think I’d go any further but I made it to the final 50, made it to the final five, and now my pudding has been chosen. It’s ridiculous,” said Melvin.
The 31-year-old amateur baker took inspiration from the lemon posset served at the Queen’s 1947 wedding to Prince Philip and the special women in her own life.
She said: “This particular trifle is a tribute to three women: it’s my Gran, my Nan and the Queen herself.
“My Grandma taught me to bake, she taught me all the elements, everything from scratch.
“My Nan’s signature dish was always a trifle; we used to call her the queen of trifles.
“And the Queen had lemon posset at her wedding.”
The trifle is made with layers of lemon curd and custard, St Clement’s jelly, a mandarin coulis made with tinned mandarins, amaretti biscuits, whipped cream and finished with a jewelled chocolate bark.
It will join the ranks of royal-inspired dishes like coronation chicken and the Victoria sponge.
Ms Melvin said she hopes her winning recipe will be made by bakers across the UK to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.
“I’m hoping that everyone across the country is going to make this, I’ve made it really accessible,” she said.
Keen to make your own Jubilee pudding? Here’s Melvin’s recipe in full.
Serves 20
Prep time: over two hours
Cook time: 35 minutes
The winning pudding
