Not a Trifle of a Dessert

My grandmother was half British and half Russian. Her family lived in England for most of her youth and then later moved to the United States where she met my grandfather. Because of this she grew up with lots of British influence and would make different British desserts and food. One specific dessert was the Trifle.

Trifles are a dessert made with layers of fruit, cake, and other items. They are a traditional dish over here in England and they date back to the first recipe being printed in 1596. There are several variations depending on where you live and the ingredients you can come by, but they are also a very easy and forgiving dish allowing for a wide range of simple changes and it still remaining a beautiful trifle.

Because of my grandmother making them a lot while I was a child, I decided that I would make one while over here for my flatmates and a few friends. I looked up several recipes but they are really all very similar. (I even called my mother to ask what my grandmother usually made them with, but there was a wide range of things since she could not always get a hold of specific foods she wanted to make them with.)

To make one you need about four base ingredients: Pound cake, Fruit, Custard, and Double Cream. That being said there are multitudes of ways to change it to work for you or to satisfy your cravings. Instead of pound cake, you can use lady fingers, angel food cake, or regular vanilla cake. (Although the angel food will absorb fruit juice better than regular vanilla.) They can be made from a box or from scratch. As far as fruit, it can be frozen or fresh and can be any mix of fruit you want. I have seen ones only using bananas and some using all kinds of tropical fruit. (Just be sure you will like the taste of all the fruit together.) For the custard, you can substitute vanilla pudding. You could probably even change the pudding flavor, but vanilla would be more traditional. And lastly for double cream, you can also get whipped cream, from a can even.

When putting the trifle together, you should try and use a glass bowl if you have one, or something that is translucent. This will allow all the layers to be visible and allow you to show of your beautiful dessert. Then layer the pre-baked cake over the bottom. Next comes the fruit (which before hand should be (thawed if frozen) soaked in juice, sugar water, or a liqueur depending on which you would prefer as it adds lots of flavor). Layer the fruit over the cake and try to completely cover it, as this will make more noticeable layers. Then put the custard/pudding over top. At this point you can either continue with multiple layers of the same style or just do three really thick ones. (Hence the name trifle, for the three main layers of dessert.) You can even have some layers thick and some small, have custard in three layers and cake in only once. On top, you put the whipped cream topping and can add fruit garnish if you want. (Some people even make savory ones with meat and vegetables.)

I made one about a week ago, as I said was my dream, using a pound cake mix, frozen mixed berries (which I soaked in sugar water), Devon custard from a can, and double cream that I had to whip by hand. (If whipping your cream by hand, just put it in a jar and shake, it is much, much, much, much easier if you do not have a mixer or whisk.) The only glass dishes we had though, were glass whiskey glasses we got from Edinburgh on our whiskey tour, so I made tiny trifles in those for us to eat as well as a big one in a regular bowl.

It was really good, even though it was clearly a poor man's version of the classic. Our British friend came over and ate some with us and commented that it was actually really good, especially for it being the first trifle I have ever made.

To me it tasted like a very moist fruit cake. The juices from the fruit oozed down into the cake and the custard mixed a bit on the top with the berries making it almost seem like one entity instead of three layers. The berries were clearly the main singer in the band and the cake and custard were more back up dancers. I would recommend that you are sure you put enough custard on though, although I am sure it has to do with personal preference. But I thought mine could have used thicker layers of it to help bring out its taste more. Also, it smelled like summer time, which I am sure had to do with the mixed berries, but it just reminded me of my mother making berry cobblers and the 4th of July when I bit into it and smelled it.

I hope you all try making it and share it will some family and friends! It is definitely an easy and tasty dish. My grandmother knew what was up!

Until next time...

Embrace the Odd,
Caitlin

"Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sun-dial in the shade?" -Benjamin Franklin