The Very Best Trifle
November 5, 2004
My grandmother made the very best trifle. I suppose everyone says that about something their grandmother or mother made, but this time, it’s true. My grandmother didn’t have a large repertoire in the kitchen. She repeated things often, and since we all know that with practice comes perfect, it is only logical that with all the repetition, my grandmother’s trifle was perfect.
I have a photo of my grandmother on my bookshelf. In the photo she is 91 years old and is sitting in a wheelchair outside the church at my brother’s wedding. She didn’t need a wheelchair, except for a day like that when she would be on her feet for a long time. She was all dressed up, wearing a new hat bought especially for the occasion. I hadn’t seen Nana for some time when this photo was taken, and we were both very happy to see each other. That day was the last time I ever saw Nana – she had in fact told me it would be – so the photo means a lot to me. When a young friend saw the photo he said “Wow. She looks like a real old English grandmother.” Indeed, she was a real old English grandmother, and she made the best trifle I’ve ever tasted.
I’m not alone in my opinion –
I think everyone in my family would agree that Nana’s trifle was something special. Perhaps it was more special to me because I didn’t get to enjoy it very often. Nana lived in England while I lived in Canada, and our visits were few and far between. When I did visit, however, I was always confident that a trifle would be made in my honour. (At least I’d like to think it was in my honour.)
A “trifle” in English means a flippancy, a small amount, an insignificant detail, a drop, not much to talk about. I have no idea why we would call this dessert a “trifle”. A true trifle is not a casual throw-together dessert, and you certainly wouldn’t want just a small amount of it to eat. It is impressive and should be built in a glass (preferably crystal) bowl so that one can see all the components: fruit on the bottom, sherry-soaked sponge cake or lady fingers, a layer of custard, and whipped cream on top.
I wish I could replicate what Nana did with her trifle. Unfortunately I never did get her recipe before she passed away, and frankly I’d be a little intimidated to try to make it, scared that I wouldn’t even come close to Nana’s standard. I don’t think it could have been too difficult, however, for Nana wouldn’t have bothered to make a difficult dessert. Perhaps I’d be able to create something close to what she did if I analyzed the components.
Starting at the top, I don’t think she sweetened her whipped cream. My mother never sweetens hers and surely she might have picked that up from Nana? The custard could very well have been store bought – Nana wasn’t one for making things from scratch, and would have taken any short cut if offered to her. Indeed, the fruit she added might have been canned as well, come to think of it. As for the lady fingers or sponge cake, I can’t really remember which she used. I could ask Mum, and I’m sure she’d know. I could only deduce that it was the combination of all the things she used that made my grandmother’s trifle so good. The combination of the ingredients and one other thing…
It took years of enjoying Nana’s desserts before we finally deduced why Nana’s trifle was so special. I was arriving from Canada for a visit and Nana was about to start making the requisite trifle for the occasion when she realized she was out of an essential ingredient – the sherry. She went downstairs to ask my uncle if he had any on hand. He did have some very good sherry on hand, and could certainly spare a tablespoon or two for the trifle. He gave her his best bottle, noting that it was at least half full at the time of the bottle changing hands. Nana trudged back upstairs to her granny flat, and finished the dessert. I arrived, we congregated for a nice family dinner, and I thoroughly (I mean really thoroughly) enjoyed, relished and devoured my at-least-two-helpings-of trifle.
After dinner and dessert, my uncle decided to take the rest of his sherry back downstairs and asked Nana for the bottle. She seemed confused. “What bottle? Why do you want the sherry bottle?” “Well, I’ll take the bottle back now since I’m going downstairs and save you the trip” he replied. “Roy, don’t be so stupid! I used the sherry for the trifle and threw the bottle away.” Oh… Uncle Roy made no fuss, said nothing. What was there to say after all? It was a moment of enlightenment - the truth revealed, a family secret unearthed. The truth is, it was the combination of the ingredients that made Nana’s trifle so delicious … the combination of the ingredients and one other thing.
Your observation about the amount of sherry in Auntie Doris’ trifle made me laugh. Nanna also uses a fair amount of sherry in her trifles. Possibly a recipe handed down from their mother.