In his search for the perfect trifle, Heston goes through the development of the dish within British history. He believes the key ingredient will be the perfect sherry. As the base layer, he needs to make a classic syllabub, which will be absorbed by regular ladyfinger sponges with a few amaretti biscuits for additional flavor. The second layer - the macerated strawberry fruit layer - is given an unusual component of a sweetened black olive paste. For texture, there are two crunchy layers, first a caraway almond biscuit, and a later layer of crystallized puff pastry. For the intervening creamy layers, he wants to create something as light as possible, and tests various methods of thickening them to keep them light, to not add any off flavors, and to keep them creamy. For fun, he visit a scientist friend to determine how people sense various textures in their mouth, the results from which will influence how Heston layers the trifle and prepares the creamy layers. For the custard, he decides to go traditional but stabilize it with a little gelatin. For the whipped cream topping, he adds tapioca starch to cut the fatty aftertaste, and mascarpone for creaminess and flavor. His perfect trifle is garnished with angelica, crystallized rose petal confetti and sweetened crystallized coriander, caraway and fennel seeds, the finished seeds which are made with the assistance of a variable speed drill and coffee tin.
—Huggo