The results of the fruitcake research were, sadly, inconclusive. People did NOT notice the two plates contained the same thing - if you have food scattered over a few tables, no one keeps track of things. A bit more of the "fruitcake" was consumed than the "brandied spice cake", but there wasn't a large enough difference to say anything. Nonetheless, it was delicious, boozy, and vegan. I'd definitely make it again.Guests were impressed by the trifle. I suspect this was mainly because no one ever makes it in the U.S. It was a standard component of my UK Christmases, so I was a bit more critical. It turns out that you can't use too-dense leftover cake in place of ladyfingers. But add enough custard and fruit and hardly anyone notices.
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I am the odd introvert who enjoys throwing parties. I love planning for weeks, cooking, and decorating. I love dressing up, turning on the music, and lighting the candles. I want my friends to have a delightful time, and I work the room, introducing people and make sure that all the different friend groups are mingling and no one is left alone. But after the conversations are going strong, and the plates are loaded with snacks, I wish I could just slip away for the rest of the evening. For me, the creation of the party is the achievement and I don't actually need to participate in it. Fortunately I have enough social savvy to know this would be frowned upon.
4 comments:
It is the creativity of putting the party together then that you enjoy, not going to the party.
OMG what a wonderful observation! I have to laugh at people being impressed with trifle. I'm sure yours was amazing but 90% of the ones you get in the UK are bought at the store or every single component in it was bought at a store. One assembles moreso than cooks a trifle mostly.
Your trifle looked a work of art.
Of course you can buy trifle packs and assemble them, but it doesn't taste like a 'real' trifle. Did you soak the cake /lady fingers with sherry, until they could absorb no more? Did you put a layer of fruit salad before you added the vegetarian jelly? Old fashioned custard made up from custard powder works better than cartons of ready made. Whipped cream is just whipped cream. Do you have the equivalent of Cadbury's chocolate flakes in the USA? A generous amount of broken pieces to decorate the top layer of cream is the finishing touch.
I shall be making a trifle for Christmas Day and another one for New Year's day and we shall avoid going on the weighing scales.
Gill, thanks for the advice! I used sherry, and made my custard from scratch. We don't have flake, so I had to make my own using a bar of chocolate. I think the only mistake was using cake instead of lady fingers - the cake I used was too dense and didn't absorb the sherry properly. So the texture was too watery, although the taste was great.
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