Name: An Excellent Trifle
Ingredients: ½ cup wine; ½ cup brandy; ⅔ cup Sherry or Madeira; 1/3 cup spirit; 4 sponge biscuits; ½ pound macaroons; ½ pound ratifias; 1 pint rich boiled custard (made with ¾ pint milk and cream in equal portions, 6 eggs, sugar, and flavoring); 1 pint whipped syllabub (see page 446); ½ pint thin cream (or cream and milk mixed); 2 teaspoons sugar

Why it works: Brandy and spirit work together. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 209 recipes. Both carry ethyl benzoate, which smells sweet. The science ↓

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.

Brandy + spirittop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together209 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl benzoate (sweet).
Brandy + sherrytop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,209 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Wine + spirittop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together701 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
Wine + brandytop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,427 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Sherry + milktop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,479 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).

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

What each ingredient does

Sponge biscuits: Soak up the wine and brandy, forming the soft base layer of the trifle.
Macaroons: Absorb the soaking liquid and add a chewy, almond-toned texture between the custard layers.
Rich boiled custard: Adds richness and a creamy, moist layer that softens the soaked cakes.
Whipped cream: Forms a light, airy topping that contrasts with the soft layers beneath.

The step that matters

Whip the cream to a light froth. Overwhipping cream past soft peaks turns it grainy and can cause it to separate, so it should be whipped only to a light froth before being gently heaped on the trifle.

“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.

An Excellent Trifle