A mere trifle

  

 

The mention of Whim Wham (or Whim-Wham) yesterday excited some comment, so here it is, made by the excellent Mr. C (who was a touch over-zealous in his almond-browning!).

This is a very simple pudding, delicious and rich, perhaps not for everyday, but a treat now and again. The recipe is by Shona Crawford Poole and came from Country Living magazine ages ago. She says of the dish: "Whatever the origins....it is a very good  and very nearly instant trifle to be made on a whim. It certainly packs a wham."

 

     Reading the fascinating Taste: The Story of Britain Through Its Cooking by Kate Colquhoun, I see that Whim Wham was the apogee of the trifle. She explains its genesis: "Cream was the Georgians' darling, and new metal whisks made its transformation into desserts easier for the cook. Some were subtly flavoured by rubbing citrus peel with a knob of rough sugar.....Chocolate also nudged its way into creams, along with seductively scented essences like vanilla, bergamot, burnt almonds [the Georgians would have appreciated Mr. C., then!] and coffee. Junkets were made by curdling milk, flavouring it with flower waters, sweetening it, setting it with rennet and decorating the dish with comfits. Everything was in place for the final development of the trifle - or whim wham - a supposedly inconsequential mixture of biscuit, jelly and cream concealing a powerfully alcoholic punch that would become one of the great classics of the British table."

    There is much more in the book on such desserts, the emphasis on cream, the fashion for romantic pastoralism and the craze for darying, or having a dairy. Unfortunately, our kitchen lacks marble work slabs supported on cast iron cows' legs, as the Duchess of Lauderdale had in her dairy at Ham House, nor am I often seen in sprigged muslin or mob caps, but still, we can pretend....although I think that for our Whim Wham we shall omit the "rural idyll of sheep and swans fashioned from sugar which ....must be put on top at the very last minute 'or they will sink into it'".

Minus sinking sheep, the recipe follows:

Serves 6

25g butter
100g flaked almonds
1 tbsp caster or icing sugar
120g sponge finger biscuits (make your own if you wish, but ours are bought!)
100ml fresh orange or tangerine juice
120ml fine sweet sherry
120ml brandy
450ml double or whipping cream

In a heavy frying pan, fry the almonds in the butter until they are golden. Sprinkle them with the sugar and shake the pan on a low heat until the sugar melts. Turn the almonds onto a piece of silicone or greaseproof paper and spread them out to cool.
An hour or two before serving the Whim Wham, put the sponge fingers into six individual glasses or one large dish. Combine the orange juice, sherry and brandy and pour the mixture over the biscuits.
When the sponge fingers have absorbed most of the liquid, whip the cream until it holds soft peaks and spoon over the biscuits. Sprinkle the caramelised almonds on top and serve.

Comments

[Harriet]

Well well -- my mother used to make this pudding (minus the alcohol) but we didn't call it whim wham -- in fact I can't remember what we did call it, but it was a huge favorite. So easy to make, so delicious to eat.

[Karen/NYC]

Looks gorgeous! Some friends and I have signed up for a two-day "historic food" course next summer in Cumbria, focusing on the "Georgian Christmas" -- I will have to ask the instructor if we can include "Whim-Wham" among the dishes we make!

Merry Christmas from cold & icy New York.

[Juxtabook]

"nor am I often seen in sprigged muslin or mob caps" - very disapointing, as that's how I'd always imagined you!

[Harriet]

I've remembered what we used to call this -- it was Boodle's (or Boodles') Fool.