Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip

Upon the death of George VI, a young Lilibet, his eldest child, ascended to the Throne of the British Empire.  The pomp and circumstance of her coronation came a year later in 1953.

Unlike the United States of America, England has a reigning monarch.  Currently, that monarch is Queen Elizabeth.  The position is hereditary and is passed down to the eldest son if there is one; if not, it goes to the eldest daughter.  As Queen, Elizabeth has supported legislation that would end the rule of male primogeniture, which, if passed, would mean the eldest child could succeed to the throne, regardless of gender.

The Prime Minister and his or her cabinet are the ones who really govern the country – the monarch being a figurehead.  The Prime Minister meets with the Queen once a week to “bring her up to speed” on things that are taking place so the Queen is very much “in the loop”.  The Royal Family is, for the most part, respected and looked up to.  Queen Elizabeth, or “Lilibet” as she was called by those close to her growing up, has been on the throne of England for nearly sixty years.  At this point, she has served as monarch second longest, second only to Queen Victoria who served for sixty-four years.

Queen Elizabeth did not expect to be on the throne.  It was not until her uncle, King Edward, abdicated the throne in order to marry divorcée Wallis Simpson, and her father, George VI became King, that it became clear that she would, one day, become Queen.  Princess Elizabeth left England with her husband, Prince Philip on a tour of duty to Kenya, and returned to England as its Queen.  Her father had passed away at a relatively young age and so Elizabeth found herself becoming Queen at the age of twenty-six.  She had been married to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh for five years by this time and they had two children, Charles and Anne.  They went on to have two more children, Andrew and Edward.

Elizabeth and Philip met when she was a mere thirteen years old and she fell for him!  There were some who did not think he was good enough for Elizabeth but they did marry and have been so for over 65 years.

Totally devoted to her country throughout her reign the Queen has been, for the most part, popular.  There was one time, however, that the Queen understood from her public that it was very upset with her.  Diana was tragically killed in a car crash and the Queen was not showing enough sympathy and caring….she was just not showing her people that she cared.  This was rectified rather quickly by the Palace and the Queen has enjoyed popularity ever since.  For those of you who have not seen it, The Queen is a great movie which will give you more insight into this amazing lady.

The Queen is crazy about her dogs and her horses.  Always dressed to the nines and putting her best foot forward, the Queen enjoys a very active life.  We have not heard it “from the horse’s mouth”, but we feel sure that Queen Elizabeth enjoys a typical British trifle every so often.  You can enjoy this yourselves by following the recipe below.  Yes, you too will feel like a Royal as you take each bite!

At the beginning of her reign, the Queen promised to serve her country and serve it she has!  So much love she has shown, joy she has expressed and so, she has contributed to abundant living!

Her eldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales is expected to ascend the throne but who knows when!  His life has not been without its own drama.  Who could have imagined all that would unfold when he took Lady Diana Spencer as his wife.

And so the story continues…..

The word “trifle” comes from the old French term “trufle,” and means something of little consequence.  Had they tasted this trifle they might not have thought so!  A proper English trifle is made with egg custard, cake, usually stale or left over cake, with a fruit syrup and sherry and topped with whipped cream.

We will give the recipe for each of the important components but obviously if you happen to have some stale cake lying about feel free to use it.  Also we used fresh raspberries and Fresh Raspberry Freezer Jam but store bought jam or strawberries and strawberry jam are equally delicious.

English Trifle
makes one trifle

1 pound cake cut into chunks
1 recipe vanilla custard pudding
1 jar raspberry jam
2 cups whipped cream
1 pint fresh raspberries
Gran Marnier or sherry

Place a Layer of pound cake in the bottom of a glass serving bowl.  Sprinkle lightly with Gran Marnier or sherry.  Top with a layer of raspberry jam to coat.  Then add layer of custard.   Repeat ending with custard and then top with whipped cream and fresh berries.

Pound Cake

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup flour

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one.  Add flour and mix well.  The longer you beat the softer the cake will be.  Fold into a buttered loaf pan.   Bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour in a 325 degree oven.  The length of baking time will be determined by the type and size of pan used.  When the cake has cooled remove from pan.

Vanilla Custard Pudding

1/3 cup corn starch
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups milk
2 egg yolks
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Put corn starch, sugar and salt in a sauce pan and stir together.  Slowly add milk and bring to a simmer stirring continually.  When mixture begins to thicken, remove from heat and add a small amount (1/4 cup approximately) to egg yolks.  You stir this together to keep temper yolks or keep them from cooking instantly in hot custard .  Return this mixture to the pan and continue cooking over a medium heat, about 1-2 minutes, until mixture is quite thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in butter until it melts and then add in vanilla.  Cool until ready to use.

Whipped Cream

2 cups heavy cream
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat or whip cream with sugar and vanilla until soft peaks are formed.  Do not over beat.