Tipsy Laird Recipe – How to Make a Scottish Trifle

If you’ve never heard of a Tipsy Laird, your mind must be boggling at what it might be!

This quaintly named Scottish dessert has been one of our favourites for a while now – both thanks to the imagery the name Tipsy Laird creates and how simple this wonderful looking pudding is to make.

Scroll to the end or use the table of contents to be taken straight to the Printable Recipe Card.

What is a Tipsy Laird?

A Tipsy Laird is a Scottish Trifle that, at its most basic, uses whisky or whisky liqueur rather than the sherry that you’d find in a traditional English trifle. We also like to use Scottish raspberries and raspberry jam in ours.

We always like to try to find out a bit of history behind the recipes we make, but try as we might, we couldn’t find out where the name Tipsy Laird originated from or when it was first made.

The earliest Trifle recipe appeared in a cookbook in 1585, so there’s definitely some history to the dessert, although when the switch to whisky may have happened is anyone’s guess.

We imagine it was an idea that was spread by those like prefer whisky or would like to make their English Trifle a little more Scottish!

As far as explaining the name goes, a Laird is the Scottish equivalent of an English Lord. They would be the owner of a large estate though, as opposed to a Lord who might also have a peerage title that was either passed down through the family or bestowed upon them by the regent of the time.

So we can imagine the name Tipsy Laird being a little tongue-in-cheek, poking fun at the upper classes with a simple dessert. Whoever the first Tipsy Laird was they’ve managed to not have their drunken exploits documented!

Why make a Tipsy Laird?

Traditionally a Trifle would be made around Christmas and a Tipsy Laird is no different, although it could also be made at Hogmanay or for Burns Night too.

It’s a lighter dessert than, say, a Christmas pudding or a Clootie Dumpling (recipe found here) and is a great centrepiece for a table as the layers of cream, yellow custard, jammy sponge and bright fruit stand out wonderfully.

The best part, this is one of the easiest pudding we have made yet, it’s as simple as Caledonian Cream (recipe found here) and just as tasty!

It also makes the perfect Burns Night dessert for that reason!

The thing about making a Scottish Trifle (or any for that matter) is how much of each ingredient you need will depend on how many people you want to serve and what size bowl or glasses you use. It can be a little bit of a guessing game the first time around for this reason but we’ll talk you through it and you’ll be wanting to make it again anyhow we’re sure!

We made ours as individual portions but this recipe can be adapted for any size dish. We suggest making your Tipsy Laird the day before or at least several hours before you want to serve it. Though not crucial, it does taste better when allowed to rest for a while.

Things you’ll need to make Tipsy Laird

You can make this as one large trifle that serves 4, or in four individual bowls/glasses.

• Trifle dishes – You can use a large bowl like this or individual glasses like this, or whatever you have!
• Saucepan/Microwave safe bowl
• Spoon

If you’re making custard:

• Large saucepan/pot
• Egg yolk separator (like this, if you’re not confident doing it yourself!)
• Whisk

Ingredients for Tipsy Laird

As we mentioned above, this will serve 4. You can make it in one large bowl or four individual bowls/glasses. The size of your bowl will dictate the amount of the ingredients a bit. You may need slightly more or less, depending on what you use.

The amount of whisky is also changeable, of course! We like to have a decent whisky taste, and this will definitely give it.

• 12 Trifle sponges/ladyfingers – This is approximately 250g of sponges/ladyfingers/cake but you basically want enough to make a whole layer in your bowl/glasses.
• 600ml bought custard
• 500g (approximately) Raspberries to decorate
• 320g/approximately one small jar of raspberry jam (1 cup)
• 250ml of double cream (1 cup of heavy whipping cream)
• 8 tbsp Scottish whisky or whisky liqueur
• 8 tbsp orange juice

If you’re making custard:

• 600ml whole fat milk (2.5 cups)
• 3 egg yolks
• 25g caster sugar (2 tbsp)
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 1 vanilla pod

Trifle Sponges

Trifle sponges are commonly sold in the UK but may not be as available elsewhere. You can substitute ladyfingers, which are used to make tiramisu, or use a basic plain sponge cake, cut into pieces to suit.

Custard

In the UK it’s easy to buy either totally pre-made custard or custard powder that you can use to make up your own custard. However, elsewhere you may need to either make your own custard from scratch or seek out some custard powder (Birds is the most common brand found internationally).

How to make Tipsy Laird – step-by-step method

The basic premise is to build a dessert of three layers – sponge soaked in whisky, jam, and orange juice on the bottom, topped with custard, and covered with cream. You can add raspberries throughout the layers and for decoration. We like to put a few crushed on the bottom if serving in glasses, some cut in half and layered around the outside of the bowl on top of the sponge, and then on top.

Note: If you’re making your own custard or using powder, you’ll want to do that first so it can cool.

Layer 1 – Sponge

• If using trifle sponges then cut each sponge in half lengthways and spread with a light layer of jam, then put back together as though you were making a sandwich. For ladyfingers or spongecake spread jam on one side.
• Cut the sponges to fit into your bowl or glass. We cut into 1.5cm strips for smaller glasses but you can cut larger rectangles or squares for a large bowl.
• Begin placing the sponge strips into the bowl/s. We start by working along the edge to make sure the visible layer looks good and then fill out the middle. Pack them in tightly, cutting smaller pieces of sponge to fill any gaps. This makes sure the rest of the pudding has a firm foundation to build layers upon. The layer should be at least an inch thick, depending on the size of your bowl.
• Once the layer is packed in firmly in each serving place them to one side.
• Gently heat the remaining jam in a saucepan or microwave-safe bowl to thin it out. Take off the heat and add the whisky and orange juice. Allow to cool and taste to see if you want to add more whisky or orange juice.
• Pour over the sponge layer, making sure the whole thing is well soaked. There shouldn’t be any dry sponge, although you don’t want it totally soggy either so don’t feel you need to use it all if you find it’s too much.
• Make sure this layer is totally cool before adding the next. We like to do this earlier in the day and keep in the fridge.

Layer 2 – Custard

*See below for how to make your own custard

• If using raspberries, cut enough raspberries in half to go around the edge of your dish, cut half facing the glass, in a layer on top of the soaked sponges.
• Once this outside-facing ring of raspberries is in place you can fill in the middle with raspberries too if you like, but it’s not essential.
• Pour the custard over this layer of tightly packed raspberries. This layer should be of the same thickness as the sponge layer.
• Allow the custard to cool/set in the fridge

Layer 3 – Cream

• Tip the double cream into the mixing bowl and whip until the cream forms stiff peaks
• Place cream gently on top of the custard layer. It’s easiest to pipe if you can so that it doesn’t sink into the custard, or you can spoon small amounts over the whole thing.
• Decorate with whole raspberries and put in the fridge until required.

Making your own custard

For powdered custard mix to the directions on the box, making approximately 600ml or 2.5 cups. To make a thicker custard that will set more increase the powder slightly more than the directions.

For making your own custard, do so as below:

• Cut the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds
• Put the seeds and the outside of the pod into a saucepan with the milk and gently heat until almost boiling
• Set aside to allow the vanilla to infuse
• Meanwhile, split your eggs and keep the yolks (you can use the whites for meringues if you like!)
• Mix the egg yolks with the cornflour and sugar in a heatproof bowl until it comes together as a paste
• Remove the outside of the vanilla pod from the milk and then slowly pour into the paste, stirring constantly, until it is combined
• Tip back into a clean saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly. The custard will start to thicken at around 75C/167F. You can measure if it’s ready by using a thermometer or coat the back of a spoon, draw a line with a fingertip (carefully!) and if the line stays then it is ready.
• Set aside to cool completely

Variations

For a little extra kick add a tablespoon of Whisky or Drambuie to the cream as you’re whisking it, this makes sure the whisky taste is on every spoonful and helps add a little more tipsy to your Laird!

To add a little extra crunch and to provide the perfect decoration to the top of your completed Tipsy Laird add some toasted almonds. The toasted flavour really sets off the whisky perfectly.

Other Traditional Scottish Desserts and treats to try:

Easy Clootie Dumpling Recipe

Simple Microwave Clootie Dumpling Recipe

Traditional Homemade Scottish Tablet Recipe

Cranachan: A Traditional Scottish Dessert Recipe

Scottish Cranachan Cheesecake Recipe

Simple Caledonian Cream Recipe

Traditional Dundee Cake Recipe

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