Granny’s Cook book.

Trifle

With summer in full flow and everyone getting together for parties, BBQs and cook outs, I thought I’d enclose a super pudding that could grace any table. Not so good as a picnic food unless you made it in individual cups and they have lids on, but a good all-round pleaser, if you like jello, cream and custard.

Start by making your jello up according to the packet instructions I chose a strawberry one as it’s my favourite. Pour it into your dish which should hold at least four pints of liquid I usually test my chosen dish if it’s not one I’ve used before with the amount of water to represent the amount of pudding that will be in there, to see how far up the dish it will come when it’s full of trifle. Cover your dish with food wrap and place in the fridge to cool and thicken.

Next is making the custard, I’m afraid granny cheats with this, I haven’t got time and sometimes the spare eggs to make a real custard instead I make cornflour custard which is one pint of milk and two heaped tablespoons of cornstarch with two tablespoons of sugar, place these ingredients into a saucepan and cook over a medium heat, stirring all the time. It will be difficult to start to stir at the beginning, but perseverance will get it smooth and soon it will start to thicken, take it off the heat and whisk it so that no lumps form and it’s nice and smooth. If it thickens too much add some more milk and whisk it in. I add two teaspoons of vanilla essence at this point and some food colouring, you don’t have to colour it, but as it’s very white I like to the choice of what colour I’d like it to be, today I chose a pinky purple a mixture of two colours. Cover this and place it in the fridge to cool. Once your jello is set and your custard is cold you can beat the whipping cream.

I use about a half pint of cream and beat it till it’s just thick enough to spoon, at that point I add two teaspoonfuls of vanilla essence and two tablespoons of confectioner’s sugar and whisk that in. It’s now ready to be assembled.

Pour the custard over the top of the jello (if it’s too thick add some milk to it and whisk it till it loosens up a little enough to spoon). Smooth it out level. Next, spoon the cream over the top of the custard and smooth again, you can make tufts with a fork if you want but I’m not going to, instead I’m going to add some sprinkles (only add the sprinkles Just before serving as the colours in them might bleed out into the cream with prolonged waiting).