Enjoying a Tipsy Parson

Pumpkin pie is one of the traditional Thanksgiving desserts, but I made a pumpkin pie for Sweetie days before Thanksgiving, so I was open to another soft dessert. In one of the recipe collections that seem to land in my email box frequently, I found just the recipe - tipsy parson, a variation on the traditional Christmas trifle.


Although they said that you could use sponge cake ladyfingers, they also said that pound cake would work, so I made one from a mix, adding lemon zest because I like lemon. When the cake was cooled, I cut it into cubes, which went into the bottom of the serving dishes.

The last of the Gravenstein apples were peeled and cored and sliced, then cooked with a bit of apple juice and some cinnamon until soft...after all a soft dessert is what I'm looking for.

I made a half batch of the Pouring Custard HERE, then let it chill in the fridge.

I made a simple syrup by boiling water and brown sugar. When mostly cool, I added rum to make a syrup to lightly soak the bread cubes with. This is the tipsy part.

Now all of the parts of the dessert were ready! The syrup went over the cubed cake, the apples went over that, then the custard went over that. A sprinkle of cinnamon added to the looks and flavor. The tipsy parson was ready for tasting. Sweetie really liked the combination and I enjoyed the flavor and the soft texture. It made a great seasonal Thanksgiving treat thanks to the spiced apples. I made the desserts in individual dished, but you can also make it in one dish and serve it out into individual dessert dishes.

You can adapt this recipe quite a lot. The cake can be sponge, ladyfingers, unfrosted Bundt cake and pound cake. It's fine to use purchased cake. Angel food cake wouldn't work because it doesn't soak up the spirited syrup the same way. You can use any liquor or whiskey that has flavor compatible with what you are topping the dessert with. For instance, you could use kirsch, cherries, and a chocolate sponge with chocolate or vanilla pudding and some whipped cream on top for a Black Forest type dessert. In summer using Amaretto for the soak, stone fruit and vanilla custard would be delicious! How about rum in the brown sugar simple syrup, bananas cooked in brown sugar and vanilla pudding for a Bananas Foster flavored dessert? It's OK to use pre-made pudding like Kozy Shack instead of making your own, but the pouring custard is really delicious and not that hard to make...choices, choices.

Tipsy Parson
from My Recipes, Stacey Ballis
6 servings

Pouring Custard (follow link) or pre-made pudding
1 (3-oz.) package ladyfingers, split or cake cut into cubes
1/4 cup sherry (I used 1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, boiled together for a minute, cooled and 1/4 cup rum added)
Strawberries(I had about two cups cooked, cinnamon spiced apples slices)

Sprinkle 12 ladyfinger halves with sherry. Let stand 5 minutes. Line sides of a 1-quart souffle' dish with soaked ladyfingers; pour in custard, then top with remaining ladyfingers. Chill completely. Garnish with strawberries. Spoon into individual serving bowls.