Sunday 22 November 2015

A mere trifle.

Several people have once again requested the recipe for a proper English Trifle.    It is a good standby - I made one yesterday for my grandchildren coming.   So here is the recipe again in the run-up to Christmas.   And please - in the interests of continuing to keep such things pure to their origins - do NOT add jelly.

In the bottom of a really pretty glass dish layer either sponge cake, trifle fingers or (at a push) sandwich or even Madeira cake.   Here in the UK you can actually buy Trifle Sponges .   Cover them
 liberally with enough sherry to really soak in. and leave for a couple of hours.    Next add a layer of fruit.   I usually use raspberries (we grow them in the garden and there are plenty in the freezer) - black cherries are a good alternative but if using tinned cherries then drain well or you will dilute the sherry (and you wouldn't want to do that would you?)   Next comes a layer of 'ordinary' custard - either make it with eggs and full cream milk, or be lazy and make it with custard powder (but always full cream milk).   When it has cooled you can put in a layer of amaretti biscuits.   Finally cover with whipped double cream - don't whip too much - you need it thick enough to hold its shape but don't overdo it.   Then it needs a chill in the fridge until about an hour before serving, when bring it out so that it reaches room temperature.   Enjoy.

16 comments:

Sarah said...

Reading your posts is a little like having a chat to my mum who was born in 1932. How to make a proper trifle (I kept her special glass trifle dish), ballroom dancing at Blackpool (my grandfather was a Morecambe lad and visits home were regular events), growing up on a farm (my mum was evacuated to farming relatives in Shropshire and spent the duration of the war there) and so much more. Thank you.

A Heron's View said...

Hi Pat for a great vegetarian recipe look here http://www.padhuskitchen.com

Elizabeth said...

All I can say is YUM!

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

Not often we differ Pat, but.....
Most of our family like trifle made with a jelly base and it has to be orange jelly with mandarin oranges for the fruit! I often make a small jelly-less (strawberry) version for the others!
When I was much younger we had that tinned Nestle cream on top. Do they still make it ? With the Nestle factory being near we would get their products cheaper.
Gill

Rachel Phillips said...

I agree that this is an English trifle but there are many variations of it. I make this type of trifle with a plain swiss roll, or trifle sponges spread with jam, a tin of raspberries and then custard and cream on top. I also make it with swiss roll and a tin of fruit cocktail and custard and cream. We have what we also call a traditional English trifle made with trifle sponges and jelly and a tin of fruit and then custard and cream on top. Any of these trifles can have sherry poured on the trifle sponges/swiss roll if there is any available.

Linda Metcalf said...

Yum! Going to try this one!

Mary said...

I'm now wondering if the traditional trifle is also a regional dessert.

Down south in Devon we never put any fruit in it - but always spread thick raspberry jam between slices of sponge cake before soaking with sherry (Harvey's Bristol Cream). Added good thick custard (Bird's of course, which one had to make up from scratch in those days, no readymade), then the whipped cream - or for very special occasions, and being in Devon, lots of clotted cream - yum!

Could eat a bowlful of good trifle right now - for breakfast! Instead a fresh-baked carrot raisin muffin (made them last night) is doing the job!

Mary -

Wilma said...

I like the sound of your trifle, Weaver. First I have to see if I can find a reasonable sherry here.

Tom Stephenson said...

I think the first time I ever got a little drunk was after my mother's trifle. Something else I can blame on her...

Mac n' Janet said...

Sounds delicious.

Heather said...

So simple but so delicious. One of my aunts was the family champion trifle maker.

Anonymous said...

It's one of my go to puds when we've got people coming and I'm low on time. Always delicious and so simple to make. I might just do one for Christmas, now you've reminded me. Plenty of raspberries in the freezer.. :o)

angryparsnip said...


Sounds wonderful.
This was one of my go to deserts for many years. The recipe I used did have jam in it and another layer of cake
but it was lost in the fire.
At one time I used to make an extra small one without the sherry for me to have. With all the meds I take
it is super bad for me to have the sherry. Then I just stopped making them which is a shame because they are so good
no matter how you make them.
One year I made little ones in tall martini glasses, they were so beautiful and just enought for a teriffic desert for just a few people.

cheers, parsnip

Robin Mac said...

Interesting you say NO jelly. Trifle was a favourite in my house when I was growing up and I had never heard of jelly in trifle till I was an adult!
These days trifle rarely featured on our menu because of the sherry and drink driving regulations! Cheers

shadypinesqltr said...

I loved my Mum's trifle but never ate one with alcohol until I was an adult and didn't like it! I think her recipe choice was economical as she also added jelly (Jello for US readers) as a stretcher.

Rachel Phillips said...

The sherry is optional and in my opinion many of these trifles are just as good, or better, without.