Shortbread instead of sponge for trifle?

[Teeh]

I think this should work? Has anyone tried this before? Looking for easy alternative to making sponge

No it would be weird

What about good quality shop bought madeleines? They're usually quite low UPF

Why not go all out and make a trifle tart instead? Use the shortbread as a biscuit base like you do for cheesecake? Then fruit, well set custard and cream?

I think if you just substitute it for the sponge in a normal trifle recipe it would fall apart and go all wet and stodgy, but not in a good way.

If you made - or bought - small individual discs, or other shape, of shortbread and layered them with cream and jam or compote that would work very well. I think most people envisioned jelly and/or custard soaked shortbread which likely wouldn't be nice.

I think the shortbread might disintegrate and form a tasteless mess or clump together. It's not the right texture at all. You could have a raspberry shortcake with cream if you want to use shortbread

As soon as I saw your post I thought it was probably a UPF issue . Not really got any good ideas other than I’d probably go for cheesecake instead using doves farm digestives

I think it'd just go soggy and grainy. Like when they break off in your tea. Buy sponge fingers if you cba to make them, they're pretty cheap.

I think it could work but you’d benefit from soaking the shortbread (need to experiment with quantities) to get a desired texture. You could also add a complimentary flavour to the shortbread, lemon or orange zest maybe.

We’ve been dunking biscuits in milk for years!

You think people wouldnt be interested in trifle?

You underestimate us!

My cousin made trifle with thick fingers of bread. It was surprisingly nice.

I love shortbread and I love trifle. I would not love shortbread trifle.

Im amazed at how rigid people are about recipes, are we turning into Italians and Spanish who must not have their recipes played about with?

I love a bit of experimentation.

How about fruit/custard/cream with crushed amaretti bics on top (the hard ones?)

Soggy biscuit 🤮

If I was wavering before, it's a definite no now!

Might also want to consider Viennese Shortbread instead of traditional Scottish. The icing sugar used in Viennese would give a smoother texture.

I'm all for experimentation. But if you're very familiar and experienced with cooking/baking it is possible to make an educated guess as to whether or not something will work well.

Well crunchy base, creamy top, not unlike a cheese cake, cant go far wrong

I would bet my hat that if Heston brought out a shortbread based trifle for Christmas at Waitrose people would be all over it!!

Sounds like lateral thinking from bread and butter pudding and/or summer pudding so not too surprising!

No. But I have sugar cravings at the moment so I’d probably eat it and enjoy it

If you look back I've already said that it would indeed work very well as a layered dessert with cream. But when OP said trifle many people were quite reasonably envisaging dunking the shortbread in jelly. I don't suppose that would work very well. But if you want to experiment I'm not going to stop you!

As for Heston's puddings...we once had one from Waitrose for Christmas. It was not good. 😁

(Perhaps we should do a MN shortbread trifle experimentation group this year! We could all come up with our own versions and see what happens. Might be fun...)

Hestons supermarket food is generally awful, I dont think Ive liked one thing of his, so perhaps he should bring out a short bread trifle!

The worst was some pine needle flavour thing, cant remember exactly

I volunteer for travelling round the country tasting them.

Absolutely 100% NO

The magic of trifle is in the textures and shortbread would just fundamentally fuck with it.

Nope nope nope!

Shortbread and jam instead of jelly? It's certainly not a trifle, sounds more like an abomination

Why not make a microwave sponge pudding to use in the bottom? Cut into pieces obviously!