The online magazine
dedicated to the
discussion & revival
of British foodways.

NO.72
FALL/WINTER2023

Marmalade trifle

from C. Anne Wilson via The Book of Marmalade (2d revised edn, Totnes, Devon 2010):

Puddings006.jpg “Your usual trifle recipe [Editor’s note: a bfia version appears in our archive ] can be the basis for a marmalade trifle. The day before it is to be made, measure out the sherry or brandy which is to moisten the sponge/macaroons/ratafias, but replace one tablespoon of it with the juice of half an orange (Seville or sweet, as preferred), or half a lemon. Carefully take the zest from the orange or lemon peel, and leave it to soak overnight in the alcohol and fruit-juice mixture. Next day remove the zest and use the liquid to moisten the base layer of the trifle. Replace the usual covering layer of raspberry or apricot [Editor’s other note: or, in our case, strawberry] jam with a layer of marmalade. Add the custard layer. Finally, beat a little curacao or other orange liqueur into the whipped cream which is to crown the trifle…. ” (Wilson 166)

Notes:

-Wilson likes to decorate her trifle with ‘split blanched almonds’ and stewed citrus zest; we do not.

-Marmalade trifle is a particularly satisfying wintertime dish. The britishfoodinamerica base trifle starts with strawberries; the marmalade would have been a traditional stored substitute during the season of dearth, and somehow the tarter tone fits our wintry moods.

-The Editor first encountered marmalade trifle in an upscale public house at a pretty crossroads village in Cheshire back in the 1980s. It was, as this note indicates, memorable.