Asking food-lovers how to make the perfect trifle will often spark the kind of debate that could span hours if it was allowed to run its course. But with so many different ways to whip up the famous dessert – the question remains of whether or not the perfect trifle even exists in this day and age.
The popular British delicacy dates back as far as the 1500s when it was originally being made as a combination of cream and rosewater, flavoured with ginger and sugar. As the years went on, ingredients were gradually added to the recipe to create the cake that we know and love today.
Typically, a trifle consists of sponge cake soaked in sweet sherry that is layered with custard, fruit, jelly or cream and then topped with whipped cream as well as anything from slivered almonds, glacé cherries, fresh fruit or lollies. But while a very general idea of the recipe is understood by bakers everywhere, the approach differs from person to person.
Some people are likely to stick to singular layers of each section while others find it more appealing to repeat thinner layers multiple times to help get more flavours into one serving each time. Meanwhile, the base has also become a point of tension as many find that using sponge cake can create a soggy dessert overall.
With such a unique mixture of ingredients in one dish, side-stepping catastrophe can be hard – especially when you find your trifle beginning to go down the soggy route. To avoid this, some simply increase their sponge cake portion to ensure the base is strong enough to hold everything, while others remove the cake all together and replace it with biscuits such as ginger nuts for more flavour.
When it comes to the tradition of soaking the sponge cake in sherry, it’s not unusual for bakers to avoid it all together while others simply pop a sprinkling over the top. Too often, sherry isn’t even the top pick for those who choose something stronger like whiskey or white rum as a substitute while others ditch the grog all together and go for the non-alcoholic options like ginger ale which is definitely more suited to those non-drinkers and young kids out there who love the dessert as well.
Many people also have complaints and opinions over the involvement of fruit. Although the mighty trifle can compliment the flavours of any and all fruit, a surprising number of people have never chosen to go down that path – not even to simply garnish the cake at the end.
Speaking of topping the cake, this is one of the areas that many people choose on the day. Whether it’s whipped cream and fresh fruit, hundreds and thousands for the grandkids or chocolate shavings – as long as it looks good, it’s hard to mess this part up!
Of course, no discussion surrounding the politics of a trifle would be complete without the mention of jelly. Some people are adamant on the inclusion of jelly, others can only have it if there’s alcohol included and the rest would rather not eat at all than take a bite of a trifle that includes the controversial ingredient. When using jelly however, it is vital to ensure each layer is completely set before piling other ingredients on top as the threat of a sloppy and soggy trifle might just rear its ugly head once more if you don’t wait.
With so many recipes floating around and most people sure that no one could make trifle better than their mum or dad, if there’s one thing that everyone can settle on, it’s that if it’s not in a glass dish to show all it’s glory, then what’s the point!