Introducing our Platinum Pudding winner

Discover an extraordinary trifle and the story behind its invention

Narrowing 5,000 wonderful entries down to just five finalists was tricky, but choosing a single victorious baker and recipe from that final quintet of talented bakers was almost impossible.

But now, after months of baking and tasting – and hours of debate and deliberation from the famous faces on our judging panel – we’re delighted to announce Jemma from Southport’s Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle as the winner of our Platinum Pudding Competition.

Congratulations, Jemma, on creating a pudding that’s certain to become a delicious part of Fortnum’s history – and forever associated with Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations too.

So without further ado, read more about Jemma’s journey to Platinum Pudding victory – then download the extraordinary recipe to make at home. Happy baking.

Jemma's Lemon Swiss Roll & Amaretti Trifle

Jemma is a copywriter from Southport. She lives with her long-term partner, James, and their beloved rescue-dog Bella. Jemma started baking when she was six or seven.

Congratulations, Jemma! Tell us what inspired your – now victorious – Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle pudding.

My inspirations are my gran and my nan. My gran is with us but sadly my nan is not, but they’re both extremely important to me.

My gran taught me how to bake, and she’s a very talented baker – she wouldn’t say that, but she is. And my nan – a wonderful, poised lady – was just the trifle queen, so this dish is an absolute tribute to them both.

I found out that The Queen had lemon posset at her wedding, so I decided the pudding had to be based around the lemon flavour, and both my gran and my nan very much liked lemon as well, so it all just slotted into place.

I made several versions before I submitted the actual version – at first it was simply lemon but I didn’t think it was special enough, so I added in amaretti and mandarins. And now, here we are!

How did you perfect the recipe? There must have been plenty of volunteers to taste test…

James, my partner who I live with, is my chief taster. He's got hollow legs! We ate the elements separately, just to make sure everything worked. My neighbours got given a lot of the elements of the trifle too, without knowing what I was working on, so hopefully it's all going to make sense now! I pass bakes over the fence all the time, and they love it.

My friends and family were also tasting elements as I was creating the recipe, so in the end I had quite a community of tasters – and the mad thing is they don't know what they've been tasting for! Even James didn’t really know what he was tasting at the time.

'The first bite I took, the first two words out of my mouth were 'Oh wow'. It really is a lip-smackingly good dessert. You just want to keep diving in for more. It's exudes a lot of personality and fun, and it really embodies what the Platinum Pudding Competition is all about.'

Matt Adlard

What made you decide to enter the competition?

I’ve been baking my whole life really, as a young child with my gran – she taught me how to make the basics, like scones and stuff like that. But it’s only since I got my own home four years ago – where I could make a mess in my own kitchen – that I’ve been seriously developing my own recipes and upping my skills.

During lockdown, I used to put little boxes of baked treats on my friend’s doorstep. She’s a big supporter of my baking, and she knows how much I love it – and it was actually her that spotted the competition and suggested I enter. Thankfully I did!

The standard of entries we received was incredible – how did it feel to make it to the final five?

I burst into tears! They surprised me with the call – as they did everyone – and said that Roger Pizey (Fortnum’s Executive Pastry Chef and all-round pastry oracle) would like to ask me some questions about my dish. But when I got on the call he said: ‘Actually, I haven't got any questions for you, I just need you to know you're in the final five!”

My dog, who is like my child, ran in because I was crying, worried about what was happening. I just couldn’t stop saying ‘thank you’ – I think I said ‘thank you’ about 97 times!

Before all this happened, I’d never been to Fortnum & Mason. I've heard of it, of course, and I love going to London, but it’s far from home for me. I'm a northern girl from a northern town, a seaside town. It's so outside of my normal life.

So to walk in there was surreal – everyone was so excited to meet us, and everything was shut down, just for us. I said to myself: ‘I'm going to just live this and make the absolute most of it and have the best time ever; soak in all the knowledge I can get from Roger, and the other chefs in the kitchen’. I had the best time.

'It’s absolutely wonderful. I think Britain is going to be so delighted and The Queen too.'

dame mary berry

How did you get on with the others?

That could get me emotional talking about that! It was just so nice – when we first met each other we were talking each other's heads off. We all get on so well.

The puddings were all so different and so unique, and all the women are so different and so unique too. It didn't feel like a competition at all. There was not a note of competitiveness –we all wanted to show our best, but it was just really special.

I hope everyone watching felt the same joy we felt being there, and I hope people feel inspired to make the recipes, enjoy making the recipes and serve them at a Jubilee Street Party celebrating The Queen.

'We’ll be making Jemma’s trifle for at least the next 50 to 100 years, without a doubt.'

Roger Pizey, Fortnum & Mason Executive Pastry Chef and Judge

Speaking of which, what will you be doing on Jubilee weekend and in particular The Big Jubilee Lunch?

I’m going to be making my recipe, for my gran, at her street party.