The Importance of Trifles

When my dad was a schoolboy in England, he was instructed to write an essay with the above title. He wrote about how important trifles were when having parties, and got into some trouble for misunderstanding what the teacher had intended.

When our friends invited us over for a dinner party, I volunteered to bring dessert. Anna and I looked through cookbooks during Colin's nap. Every professionally photographed dessert caught Anna's eye. "Oooh, let's make that!" she said to Steamed Cranberry Pudding. I don't think so! "Wrong season," I told her. Then I saw a trifle and my mind was set.

We made an Almond Pound Cake the day before, then the day of the party assembled the whole thing. This was a great preschooler project. She crumbled all the cake, then helped arrange the fruit layers. I spread the Creme Anglais and whipped cream, and she licked the bowls while I decorated the top. The results:



Sadly, when I used to make this dish as a teenager, I always used Sara Lee pound cake, which was liberally sprinkled with rum by my dad, then topped that with Fruit Cocktail, Jello, Jello brand Pudding, and Cool Whip. I did artistically decorate the top with fresh fruit. Sisters, lemme tell you, homemade cake, custard, and real whipped cream make all the difference! Also, I used fresh seasonal fruit - strawberries, blueberries, and Texas peaches.


That's me, proudly serving it up!