The Waverley Gazette

"In Scotland, traditional trifle is not made with jelly!"

One of our Waverley team went to school in England and learning how to make a trifle at the age of 11 was one of the first recipes she enjoyed at school. Her granny served trifle on Christmas Day at 5pm in their high tea made up of Christmas cake, little sandwiches, and some salmon with cucumber.

She was taught that the trifle was a way to use up left-over sponge that had become dry. Soaked in a little sherry, add some cream and custard, with fruit and jelly in layers, the sponge was transformed into a delicious treat.

Traditionally served this way from the 18th century, the trifle apparently got its name from the old French word for a false tale, little trifling thing. So in culinary terms, the trifle was cream, sponge and not much else. A mere trifle. Since then, cooks have made the trifle with many layers. Towering sophisticated versions with macaroons, ratafias (almond-flavoured biscuits), and sprinkles, the trifle is constantly reinvented and always popular. This year, the trifle features as the only pudding shown in the upmarket supermarket Sainsbury's advert for their Christmas dinner. You can buy a trifle - making your own is more fun.

Scotland's version of the trifle is slightly different to England's as you don't use jelly in the recipe. Gelatine/jelly seems to be have been added to the recipe by the 1950s in England.

The recipe shared today from The Glasgow Cookery Book has been tested many times. You can buy a sponge, or sponge fingers, or make one using the recipe in the book. The quick way is, of course, to buy a basic sponge, and to buy ready made custard, but it is satisfying when you make it from scratch. It is optional to add a tin of fruit. Some people add fresh raspberries, or no fruit at all. After all, not everyone likes tinned fruit. This recipe instructs how to make the trifle in The Glasgow Cookery Book. Either way, it's fun to talk about variations of this wonderful dessert while tucking in.

The Glasgow Cookery Book is not full of 'Scottish' recipes as some people think. The cookbook, with over 1000 recipes, is a wonderful book that was first published in 1910 as the textbook of The Glasgow and West of Scotland College of Domestic Science (Incorporated) - fondly dubbed the Dough School (or Do. School) by the citizens of Glasgow.

The book was put together by the staff at the school, to document the methods and recipes they taught in class. Its reputation for dependable and economical recipes ensured that its influence spread far beyond the walls of the College. The practical and reliable cookery advice became known worldwide, not least because many trained at the College travelled and worked abroad. The book became the present to give at a wedding.

This edition, published by Waverley Books, was edited again in 2009 by Eleanor Abraham, working with a dedicated and fun team of former students, who had great enjoyment putting the book together. The work took over one year. Our warm thanks go to them again - and each time we look into this excellent book. Also thanks to Carole McCallum, archivist, for her hard work, and to Alex Gray, crime writer, who had an 'auntie', family friend, who studied at the college. Alex Gray's love of the Maw Broon's Cookbook, put together by the Waverley team, led Alex Gray to show us the notebook full of her family friend's recipes (how students had recorded the recipes before the book's first publication). We followed the story, and came to publish this wonderful, useful and beautiful book.

Reproduced by kind permission of Glasgow Caledonian University