Mary's easy Christmas trifle with dried fruit compôte and lashings of sherry can be made up to 2 days ahead and decorated with whipped cream just before serving. First, make the fruit compôte.

Give the fruity jelly a stir - it should be softly set. Layer the cake, jelly, fruit and juice in the bottom of a trifle dish (roughly 20cm/8in diameter). For the custard layer, put the mascarpone ...