Trifle

Name: Trifle
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: United Kingdom
Ingredients: 1 plain sponge cake (300g), cut in cubes; 150ml medium sherry; 150g raspberry jam; 500ml thick vanilla custard, cooled; 300ml double cream, whipped soft; Toasted almonds and grated nutmeg to top

From The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy · Hannah Glasse · 1747

Verified from original source

The classic English trifle in its 18th-century form — sponge, sherry-soaked, layered with custard and whipped cream.

Historical note: Glasse's 1747 version is often cited as the first proper trifle — sponge, wine, custard and syllabub.

History

Trifle emerged in England during the 16th century, initially as a simple cream dessert flavoured with ginger and rosewater. By the 18th century, it evolved into the layered dessert recognizable today. Hannah Glasse's 1747 recipe in 'The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy' featured sponge cake or biscuits soaked in wine, layered with custard, jam, and topped with syllabub or whipped cream. Originally served in aristocratic households, trifle became a staple of British celebration meals and remains popular today, particularly at Christmas. The dish spread throughout the British Empire, with regional variations developing in Australia and other Commonwealth nations.

Sources

Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, 1747
Alan Davidson, The Oxford Companion to Food, 1999
Elizabeth David, An Omelette and a Glass of Wine, 1984
Ivan Day, 'Trifle,' in The Cookbook Library: Four Centuries of the Cooks, Writers, and Recipes That Made the Modern Cookbook, 2012
C. Anne Wilson, Food and Drink in Britain, 1973

Serves

Prep

20m

Cook

Difficulty

Easy