Paul demonstrates his passion for chocolate, experimentation and ingenious flavour combinations with a recipe from his first book Adventures with Chocolate, named winner of Best Chocolate Book in the World by the acclaimed Gourmand Awards 2010 in Paris.

How could you resist?

Trifle of Four Chocolates by Paul A Young

Are you like me in believing that the humble trifle is totally underrated? I adore trifle and would be very happy to eat it every day – as long as I made it myself, that is, as I am very particular about the jelly-tosponge and custard-to-cream ratios. This recipe, which includes four different chocolates, will reintroduce you to this classic dessert and is sure to become a staple dinner-party dessert or teatime treat.

The recipe can be made as one large trifle or as individual portions in champagne or cocktail glasses.

Ingredients:

LAYER ONE: THE BOTTOM

About 300g chocolatebrownie chunks
About 100ml whisky, sherry, rum or coconut liqueur, for drizzling (optional)

LAYER TWO: THE CHOCOLATE CREAM

500g Javanese 40% milk chocolate, broken into pieces
450ml double cream
1⁄2 teaspoon Maldon sea salt
50g light muscovado sugar

LAYER THREE: THE WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

300g white chocolate
400g whipping cream

LAYER FOUR: THE SAUCE

50g golden caster sugar
150g 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces

FOR DECORATION

Chocolate, for grating (optional)
Chocolate pearls (optional)

Method:

For the first layer of trifle, place generous-sized chunks of brownie in the bottom of your trifle bowl, making sure that the brownie can be seen through the bowl from the side. Drizzle over your favourite liqueur if you’d like to add a more adult flavour to the trifle.

To make the second layer, gently melt the milk chocolate in a bain-marie, mixing until smooth. Slowly warm the cream, salt and sugar in a pan until lukewarm but not hot. Pour the warm cream into the milk chocolate and whisk together. Pour over the brownie chunks and place in the fridge to set.

To make the third layer of the trifle, gently melt the white chocolate in a bain-marie. Semi-whip the cream until soft but not too stiff. Quickly fold the melted chocolate into the cream and pour on to the set milk-chocolate layer of the trifle. For the final layer, bring 75ml water and the sugar to a simmer in a pan, then pour on to the dark chocolate, mixing well. Allow the sauce to cool, then pour it over the white chocolate mousse layer. Place the trifle in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.

In terms of decoration, less can sometimes be more, and a simple decoration of finely chopped chocolate (perhaps a mix of dark, milk and white) can be enough to bring the dessert alive. Chocolate pearls are a good addition too, though more difficult to find. If you really want to push the boat out, a touch of edible silver or gold leaf will make this humble trifle into a show-stopping dessert

Adventures with Chocolate by Paul A Young is published by Kyle Cathie Ltd, priced £17.99. Photography: Anders Schønnemann