Lilly Higgins's new Bake Off diary: setting agents are no trifling matter

Welcome to my weekly Great Irish Bake Off (GIBO) diary. I’m the newest judge on the programme and I hope you’ll be able to join me here every Sunday night after the show where I’ll be doing a post-mortem and suggesting a recipe based on each episode.

This first episode in the new series showcased what the Bakeoff is all about: the search for a great, all round baker with experience in different techniques and ability to handle a wide variety of ingredients.

Most of the bakers had no experience of using setting agents like those used in the technical challenge this week. Agar Agar and gelatine proved to be too much for some of them, resulting in unset or overset cheesecakes.

In keeping with the gelatinous theme, poor Sandra’s cake collapsed in the fridge. Her idea for a trifle cake was great and those flavours were amazing with the blackberry jelly.

It was so disappointing for her as she had put a lot of work in and even showed me photos of all of the successes she’d had when she tried the cake at home.

Like any structure, a cake needs to be built on a solid foundation. Her sponge, beautiful as it was, was just too airy and light and not strong enough to hold the heavy custard filling.

I love the idea of taking a classic nostalgic dessert, like a trifle, and giving it a modern twist. Everyone loves a good trifle. For me it’s all about real custard, a gorgeous homemade sponge base and lots of freshly whipped cream. I don’t usually use a jelly but rather soak the cake with fruit or berries and its juices.

Try my trifle recipe, using the traditional rhubarb and custard combination and adding a splash of orange liqueur and some pistachio brittle to lend some Middle Eastern flair.

See Lilly Higgins on The Great Irish Bake Off on TV3, every Sunday at 9pm.