Recipes

If you want a greater flavor of Scottish culture, then you need to come to the McHenry Highland Festival in Garrett County—June 3-5, 2005—to enjoy a little bit of Scotland wrapped inside the splendor of western Maryland.

In the meantime, there’s no better way to celebrate Scottish heritage than to make this trifle for a loved one. My recipe for Scotch Trifle (“Typsy Laird”) combines raspberries, a favorite fruit of Scotland, with the country’s beverage of choice, whiskey, in a beautiful layered dessert.

Scotch Trifle (Typsylaird)

serves 6-8

pound cake (use purchased pound cake or make your own)

custard (recipe follows)

1/2 cup Scotch whiskey (or to taste)

1-2 pints fresh raspberries

1 pint heavy cream

3 T. sugar

custard:

3/4 cup sugar

2 T. cornstarch

8 large egg yolks

1/2 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest

2 1/3 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 T. Drambuie (Scotch-based liqueur)

In a large heatproof bowl, whisk together sugar and cornstarch and whisk in yolks, zest, and a pinch of salt until combined well.  In a heavy saucepan, heat milk and cream until mixture just comes to a boil. Add hot milk mixture to egg mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Return to saucepan and bring to boil over moderate heat and boil 1 minute or until thick and smooth. Cool. Whisk in 1-2 oz. Drambuie (to taste).

Assemble the trifle:

Cut cake into 1/2-inch slices. Cut six to eight circles of cake to fit in bottom of wineglass.  Cut remaining slices of cake into cubes.  Spoon a small portion of custard into the bottom ofeach wineglass. Cover with a circle of cake. Top with a layer of berries. Layer with cubes of cake. Drizzle with 2 tsp. Scotch (or to taste). Top with a layer of custard. Repeat as glass size allows. Cover and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours (can be prepared one day ahead).

Whip cream and 3 T. sugar in large bowl to stiffpeaks. Mound cream on top oftrifle. Garnish with fresh raspberries.

Look for the McHenry Highland Festival in early June, a celebration of all things Celtic in western Maryland. Lots of fun and food—it’s an event for the entire family. For more information and tickets, call 301-387-3093.