A Trifle with layers of fruit, cake, and custard or pudding makes the perfect dessert any time of year.
Cubes of cake soak up the goodness from fruit and custard. Add a drizzle of liquer (or don’t!) and layer in a clear glass bowl for a pretty presentation.
What is a Trifle?
Trifle is an English dessert often made from liquid-soaked cubes of cake layered with fruit and custard or pudding.
The first trifle I ever made was for my brother-in-law and his brother at Christmas. It was a dessert their English mother made for them often.
It’s an easy-to-make but visually impressive dessert! Both light and decadent, it’s the perfect ending to every meal.
Why We Love This Dessert
- Trifle is an easy recipe for new-ish (and seasoned) home cooks that looks impressive on any table!
- Made ahead, the flavors blend and make it taste even better!
- The variations are endless, using seasonal fruits and easy-to-make custard or pudding.
Ingredients in Trifle
Trifle is a colorful combination of liqueur-infused cake, fresh fruit, and custard. It’s always served in a specialty trifle bowl that’s clear but any clear glass bowl will do. Liqueur can easily be switched out for orange juice, honey, or even a flavored coffee syrup.
Cake – Use a store-bought pound cake, angel food cake or bake a packaged mix. Any cake will do! Experiment with other flavors like yellow cake, gingerbread, or a simple white cake. Some trifle recipes also call for sponge cake or even ladyfingers which are cookies often used to make tiramisu.
Fruit – Fresh strawberries (or any fresh berries) work well and we use seedless raspberry jam or jelly. Try blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, sliced peaches or bananas.
Custard – Custard is traditional in an English trifle and actually easy to make from scratch. You can also use ready-made vanilla pudding or homemade tapioca pudding. Feel free to add extracts to custard or pudding, like banana, orange, lemon, rum, or brandy.
Variations
- Use chocolate cake or even brownies to turn this into a chocolate trifle (caramel or crushed Oreos are a great addition). Use chocolate pudding in place of vanilla.
- Replace the custard layer with no bake cheesecake, this simple cream cheese mixture adds some extra richness. in place of the custard layer.
- Try other flavors of pudding if using a boxed mix (like banana pudding) or stir some lemon curd into the vanilla pudding.
- Stir in other fruits like fresh raspberries or peaches.
- Garnish with fresh mint, crushed pecans or additional berries.
How to Make a Trifle
This berry trifle has an impressive presentation and leaves a sweet impression.
- Macerate berries by sprinkling with sugar and adding a bit of jam (per the full recipe below).
- Prepare custard (or make instant vanilla pudding). Cube cake.
- Place half of the cake cubes in a dish or large glass bowl.
- Drizzle with half of the sherry, brandy, rum, or orange juice.
- Layer with sliced strawberries & half the custard. Repeat the layers again.
- Whip the cream with powdered sugar & spread over the top of the trifle. Cover & refrigerate.
Tips for Trifle
- Use any kind of cake you’d like. A softer cake will sink a little bit and soak up more of the juices.
- You can use homemade custard, vanilla pudding or use a custard powder like Bird’s (we use this for Nanaimo bars too!). If using instant vanilla pudding, I add about 1/4 cup extra milk per package.
- The fruit can be anything you’d like, we prefer macerated fruit (mixed with sugar and rested) because we like the sauce.
- If made ahead of time, depending on the cake, it can sink a bit in the dish. For this reason, I like to add the whipped cream topping just before serving.
- It’s really hard to mess up a trifle, have fun and enjoy! :)
Storing Leftovers
Keep leftover Trifle in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Trifle does not freeze well, but it will be gone in no time anyways!
Our Favorite Fruity Desserts
- Cherry Fluff Salad – frozen & flavorful
- Strawberry Poke Cake – made with Jello
- Homemade Peach Crisp – perfect served with iced cream
- Easiest Ever Pineapple Cake – only 5 ingredients
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad – the best potluck dish
Did you make this easy Trifle? Leave us a comment & a rating below!
Trifle
Ingredients
- 14.25 ounces white cake mix or 1 angel food cake
- ¼ cup cream sherry or orange juice, orange brandy, or rum
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- maraschino cherries and slivered almonds for garnish, optional
Custard (or use vanilla pudding, see notes)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 4 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 6 egg yolks
- 4 cups milk
- 1 cup half and half or light cream
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Berries
- 2 pints fresh strawberries
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons raspberry jam
Instructions
- If the cake is not baked, bake according to package or recipe directions. Cool completely and cut into 1-inch cubes.
Strawberries
- Slice strawberries and sprinkle them with sugar. Add raspberry jam and stir to combine. Let sit at room temperature at least 1 hour.
Custard
- Whisk granulated sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Stir in egg yolks, milk, and cream.
- Heat to a boil over medium-low heat while constantly stirring. Let boil for 1 minute while whisking.
- Remove from the heat and stir in butter and vanilla and pour into a medium bowl.
- Cover with plastic wrap allowing the wrap to rest on the surface of the custard and refrigerate to cool completely, at least 2 hours.
Assembly
- Place half of the cake cubes in the bottom of a large glass bowl or trifle dish. Drizzle with half of the liquor or orange juice.
- Top with half of the strawberries and half of the custard mixture. Repeat layers once more.
- Whip the cream and powdered sugar together. Spread over the trifle.
- Garnish with maraschino cherries and slivered almonds if desired.
- Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
Notes
- The homemade custard will make 4 cups, use 2 cups per layer. Use instant vanilla pudding mix in place of custard if desired adding an additional 1/4 cup of milk per package of vanilla pudding.
- Use any kind of cake you’d like. A softer cake will sink a little bit and soak up more of the juices.
- If made ahead of time, depending on the cake, it can sink a bit in the dish so I like to add the whipped cream topping just before serving.
- It’s really hard to mess up a trifle, have fun and enjoy!
- Trifle will keep in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days. It will not freeze well.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Cake, Dessert
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