In the soup

"So who's making the trifle?" It was decision time for the Christmas party. No one was willing to make the trifle. Excuses flowed. "I'm already making a cake." "I can't do it. It always comes out wrong." "It's an English thing, I wouldn't know how to make it." There were a few half-hearted looks at recipes online. Some aghast observations, "alcohol, cake and jelly? In just one dish?" In the end no one made the trifle. It was that unheard of things: a trifle-less party.


Roll on a week and I'm in France. Dessert appears, a superb homemade apple cake in a puff pastry crust swimming in a pool of 'creme anglaise' (English vanilla cream). I refer to it as custard. "

Apple cake à la George Sand

No, not custard, you know 'Zuppa Inglese'", I'm corrected. But I know that Zuppa Inglese (English soup) is...well...trifle. A debate ensues on the relative merits of creme anglaise, creme patissiere, custard and zuppa Inglese. It's all vaguely confusing. The dessert, by the way, was delicious.


Now one thing I know is that I don't like Zuppa Inglese. This is because the sponge cake or ladyfingers layered in it are soaked in a liqueur called Alchermes, a sickly sweet pink coloured liqueur which is found in many Italian desserts. As its flavour is reminiscent of medicinal syrups I wasn't surprised to find out that in the past it had been used as such a remedy, most notably for the smallpox.


The soaked sponge is then doused in creme patissiere or custard as for a trifle.  It may then be topped by a chocolate sauce or meringue or whipped cream. The Zuppa Inglese may have originated from the 16th century kitchens of the Dukes of Este, the rulers of Ferrara. They would have asked their cook to reproduce the 'English trifle' which they had enjoyed on their frequent visits to the Elizabethan court.


Another story would have it that a Neapolitan pastry cook made it for Lord Nelson and had taken inspiration from the English booze-laden trifles. Hence, he gave it the name of Zuppa Inglese (English soup).


Whatever its origins Zuppa Inglese is a form of trifle albeit without the fruit and the jelly which goes into traditional English trifles. But the real question remains: is Tiramisu a trifle? 

Honfleur - Normandy

Of Christmas trees and more

Wouldn't you know it, I've been living in Italy for years with a misconception about the immaculate conception. It is celebrated with a holiday here on the 8th December.

For years I thought it celebrated the conception of Jesus. Silly. I was confusing it with the Virginal Conception which took place on a 25th March a long time ago, exactly nine months to the day before Xmas.


The immaculate conception was the conception of Mary's mother, St Anne. In Italy the 8th of December kick-starts the Christmas season which concludes on the 6th December, the Epiphany or as it is known here: the day of the Befana. The Befana is a witch who brings sweets for good kids and charcoal for naughty ones. 




She reminds me of St Nicholas  (the night of 6th December) which my brother and I used to celebrate when we were children. St Nicholas would come down the chimney and bring us gifts. His nasty side-kick, known as Père Fouettard (Father Whipper), and in those un-PC times usually depicted as a scantily-clad (in Winter!) dark-skinned fellow bearing a tall wooden staff in one hand and an elaborate leather horse-whip in the other, would come to punish naughty children. He would give them charcoal or even flog the really naughty ones.

 The Christmas season began in shops a while back. Mountains of Pandoro and Panettone, over-sized spongey buns some with raisins and candied fruit, some plain, others with chocolate chips, have been clogging up supermarket aisles since the last weeks of November. Each week more Christmas and New Year delights have been added to the shelves: long bars of nougat, bars of nut filled chocolate, candied nut cakes, bottles of Prosecco, lentils from Norcia, tortellini etc.... Yet all these products really high-light how simple traditional Christmas fare in Italy is. 

And then there's THE TREE. This year's Christmas tree on Piazza Venezia is a sad dying creature with lacklustre fronds that drag downwards. Last year already the tree had caused consternation and the city council had argued that it was a tree of austerity (what fun for Christmas) in keeping with the Pope's jubilee. In contrast, the Pope's tree all the way from Norway is a glorious pagan symbol with up-tilted furry fronds and merry baubles. In Galleria Alberto Sordi  the ecological tree all bio-degradable and environment friendly is a testimony to what private funds can achieve. It's also elegant and tasteful. In fact just about any Christmas tree looks nicer than the sad tree on Piazza Venezia.

Galleria Alberto Sordi

This year the tree has outdone its predecessor. No amount of baubles, tinsel and fairy lights can save it. For weeks the M5S led city council has protested that the tree is fine, until eventually the tree was declared dead. A cold uncovered trip from its native Dolomites and a harsh tearing of its root contributed to the trees demise. It also cost the city of Rome close on 50,000euros.

Old mangy after dark

It has been nicknamed spelacchio (baldy or mangy) and likened to a toilet brush. For many it is a symbol of the city's current state of decay and disorder. Che tristezza!

The pope's tree