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Dessert

A Rich Trifle

A layered dessert of sponge cakes, macaroons, ratafias, soaked in sherry and brandy, topped with custard, whipped cream, and fruit.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Sherry and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,209 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

A Rich Trifle

Ingredients

Directions

Assemble the base

  1. Place the sponge cakes at the bottom of a glass dish.

  2. Add the macaroons and ratafias.

  3. Soak the cakes with sherry and brandy.

  4. Grate the lime zest over the soaked cakes.

  5. Add the shredded almonds and raspberry jam.

Finish and decorate

  1. Pour the rich custard over the entire mixture.

  2. Top with a generous layer of whipped cream.

  3. Decorate with crystallized fruits or edible flowers.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Sherry + brandytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,209 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Almond + raspberrytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together552 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  3. Lime + almondtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together258 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Sherry + raspberrytop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together109 recipes

    Shared aroma: damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Lime + raspberrytop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together132 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sponge cakes
Form the absorbent base that soaks up the sherry and brandy.
Sherry
Soaks into the cakes, adding moisture and a rich, fruity flavour.
Brandy
Soaks into the cakes, adding moisture and a warming aroma.
Rich custard
Adds moisture and a creamy, set layer that binds the trifle.
Whipped cream
Adds a light, airy topping and extra richness.
Sweet almonds
Add texture and a nutty flavour to the layers.

The step that matters

Soaking the cakes with sherry and brandy. The cakes must absorb the liquor evenly; dry patches stay firm and spongy, while overly saturated cakes turn soggy and collapse under the custard.

Swap the lime

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sherry, brandy, almond, raspberry, cream):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Apricotfits better
  3. Peachfits better
  4. Limethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sherry, brandy, almond, raspberry, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

More trifle recipes

Apple 48Gooseberry 43Lemon 18Swiss Cream 17Brandy 13Grape 12 See all 115 →

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