Cooking Around the Calendar

My favorite holiday dessert is my mother’s trifle. Her trifle is not the classic “Ye Olde English Trifle,” but even more delicious! She combines elements from Italy, Portugal and France for a uniquely delicious experience.

But, before I tell you all her secrets, let’s discuss a few other layered desserts. The Scots have one called a Tipsy Laird, that’s made with Drambuie. Italy has a version called Zuppa Inglese, literally meaning English Soup. The United States also has a version known as Icebox Cake that came about in the 1920’s. Companies used this recipe to promote the use of the “icebox” or as we know it, the refrigerator.

Some trifles call for sponge cake, or perhaps lady fingers. Mum’s version calls for Panettone. This is traditional Italian yeast bread; commonly enjoyed during the holiday season. It’s sweet, with a rich flavor and plenty of candied citrus and a sprinkling of raisins. It just tastes like Christmas.

While assembling her trifle, Mum gives the Panettone cubes a spritz of Madeira wine. This is a fortified wine originating from Portugal, specifically the island of Madeira. The flavor combination of the sweet bread, with the sweet spirit is amazing. She layers with trifle with Crème Anglaise, which is a French custard that translates as “English Cream”. Each layer has a different fruit; we like strawberries, bananas and raspberries, but you can choose your own favorites.

Be sure to scroll to the bottom for our fool-proof Crème Anglaise recipe.

Holiday Trifle

A delicious and festive layered dessert

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: English

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 recipe Crème Anglaise
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream whipped
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 Panettone cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 teaspoons Madiera wine
• 1 pint strawberries quartered
• 2 bananas sliced
• 1/2 pint raspberries

Method

 

1. Prepare the Crème Anglaise up to one day ahead.
2. Whip the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla. Set aside.
3. Prepare to assemble the trifle in a straight sided glass bowl.
4. Starting with the bottom layer, add 1/3 of the cubed Panettone. Sprinkle 1/3 of the Madeira on the pastry layer. Next, top with 1/3 of the Crème Anglaise, and add an even layer of the sliced strawberries.
5. Repeat the layers of 1/3 each of the Panettone, Madeira and Crème Anglaise, then an even layer of sliced bananas.
6. For the final layer, add the remainder of the Panettone, Madeira and Crème Anglaise. Top the whole with an even layer of whipped cream, and arrange the raspeberries on top.
7. Allow to rest for at least one hour before serving. Keep refridgerated.

Notes

If you don’t have a fancy footed trifle dish, any straight sided dish will do. 

When adding the Madeira to the Panettone layers, we use a kitchen spray bottle we keep on hand for just this application. It makes getting an even distribution so much easier.

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Crème Anglaise

A French sauce, which translates to "English Cream"

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 3 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons corn starch
• 8 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Method

 

1. Heat the milk in a heavy bottomed pan on a low heat, to a temperature of around 125 F.
2. Sift together the sugar and cornstarch. Set aside
3. In a seperate bowl, add the egg yolks, reserving the whites for another use.
4. Whisk the egg yolks, while slowly adding the sugar. Keep whisking until all the sugar mixture has been added and the color becomes pale yellow.
5. Very slowly add the yolk mixture to the warm milk, whisking constantly. It will appear somewhat frothy on the top.
6. Turn the heat up to medium under the milk mixture. While stirring constantly slowly bring the heat up to around 175 F. The mixture will be somewhat thickened and the froth will have gone.
7. It is important to not let the mixture boil, as it will curdle when the eggs overcook.
8. Remove from heat, pour mixture into a glass bowl. Let cool to around room temperature, then stir in the vanilla. Float some plastic wrap on top, so that a "skin" doesn't form. Chill in the refridgerator until needed.

Tried this recipe?

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