Original Receipt from 'Modern Cookery for Private Families' by Eliza Acton (Acton 1845);TIPSY CAKE OR BRANDY TRIFLE
The old fashioned mode of preparing this dish was to soak a light sponge or Savoy cake in as much good French brandy as it could absorb, then to stick it full of blanched almonds cut into whole length spikes, and to pour a rich cold boiled custard round it. It is more usual now to pour white wine over the cake or a mixture of wine and brandy with this the juice of half a lemon is sometime mixed.