Here’s a Poor Man’s Trifle You Can Whip up Anytime You Want
It’s like a comfort dessert!
While you certainly wouldn’t say we are poor, we aren’t rich either. The fact is that I would make it rich or poor. No matter how rich the food or how much you ate, this dessert is soothing and slips down into the cracks of your stomach after dinner.
Desserts
When we were growing up usually dessert was homemade canned fruit. It could be pears, cherries, peaches, apricots, or whatever my mum could get or pick. She loved to can fruit and we had dessert all winter.
The only other regular dessert my mum would make was pies. Again anything that could be picked or she could get a can of. Her best pies were apple and pumpkin. She always made her own crust and frequently made the lattice tops.
Those required time and with raising four hungry, busy kids time was in short supply. My mum was busy sewing our clothes and doing all the things necessary to run a home and family.
She would make this one dessert that we all loved called Poor Man’s trifle. I think she just made up the name. I like it plain but you can always make it look good with whipped cream on top.
She also would add a tin of mandarin oranges in it and would need to drain them for a bit to make sure the jelly would set properly. I don’t usually add fruit although it is nice and an easy option. The only fruit you cannot add is pineapple.
I always have a package of jello handy and only use it for this dessert. You also need stale cake!?! Who has cake around so long it goes stale? Certainly not in this house. But you can buy day-old cake. What I’ve been doing lately is buying a bunch of Tim Hortons Timbits and taking out a dozen cutting them in half and then putting them in a freezer bag for this dessert.
You can make this an hour before you want or need it. My mum would add raisins and walnuts but really you could put what you like or have on hand. Today I put raisins and pecans. I would have added dried cranberries but didn’t have any on hand. I didn’t add any chocolate chips as I don’t think that would work, but hey if you want to try that have at it.
Here is your Poor Man’s Trifle.
Dried Cake or donut holes cut up
1 small package of Jelly — your choice of flavor; raspberry looks best.
1 small handful of raisins
1 small handful of chopped nuts — choose walnuts, almonds and/or pecans.
1 can of mandarin oranges patted dry — if you want.
Dried cranberries, dried candied ginger and any other dried fruit or nuts you choose.
• Put cake or donuts in a glass bowl
• Throw in raisins, nuts, and anything else you want
• Pour the liquid jelly over the cake etcbefore it sets
• Put glass bowl in the fridge to let it solidify
Once the jelly is set you can add whip cream before you put it out on the table.
Scoop a large spoonful of the trifle into a dessert bowl and add more whip cream or ice cream on top. I prefer it plain.
Enjoy!
Let me know in the comments some of your nostalgic desserts that mum or grandma made.
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