This Creamy Berry Trifle is a luscious dessert that is light and delicious. There’s a layer of Angel Food Cake, homemade White Chocolate Pudding, fresh berries and homemade whipped cream. (You can take a shortcut, using store bought cake, boxed pudding and dairy topping). I made the pudding and baked the cake a day before. The day of our dinner party, it took minutes to assemble this beautiful trifle. Our guests loved this dessert!
Trifles are one of the simplest desserts to make, and they are such a beautiful presentation. A traditional English trifle has a layer of sponge cake, soaked with sherry, and a layer of custard, fruit and whipped cream. A trifle bowl makes a beautiful presentation, that showcases all the luscious layers.
Strawberry season is a time of year I look forward to making strawberry desserts like this Strawberry Swiss Roll. Angel food cake is one of my favorite cakes, because it’s light with a slight stickiness on the outside. Instead of a more traditional sponge cake, I thought that an Angel Food Cake would be a delicious twist.
I’ve made Angel Food Cake from scratch with good success. The only dilemma is that I’m left with 12 egg yolks! I took a rare shortcut, by using an Angel Food Cake mix, with great results! You could also buy a baked Angel Food cake, for a legitimate shortcut.
The day before, I baked the Angel Food cake on a sheet pan, since the cake would be cut into cubes.
Done! A trifle needs a layer of custard (or pudding). There is nothing wrong with boxed pudding mixes! However, homemade pudding isn’t that difficult to make, so that’s the route I chose.
The ingredients for the pudding are heavy cream (for richness), butter, cornstarch, sugar and white chocolate.
Simply melt the butter, then whisk in the cornstarch.
Add the heavy cream and sugar and whisk. Once the pudding has thickened, remove from heat.
Adding white chocolate is completely optional. Why not?!
Pour the pudding into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Gently press down on the plastic wrap so that it’s touching the pudding– this prevents a “skin” from forming. Refrigerate until completely cook. NOTE: I found it efficient to make the Angel Food Cake and pudding the day before the trifle would be served.
It’s Trifle Day! Homemade whipped cream is how we roll, though you could take another shortcut using dairy-free topping. Heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla are whipped until firm peaks form.
To assemble the trifle, gather all of the components. Gently whisk the pudding until smooth. Whipped Cream is ready.
Angel food cake is cubed and an assortment of fresh berries have been gently washed and drained. A trifle dish, or large glass bowl is what you’ll need. Create layers in this order:
- Layer of cake
- Layer of pudding (Don’t worry about perfection. Just spread as evenly as you can.)
- Layer of whipped cream
- Layer of fresh berries
- Repeat 2 to 3 times
- Set aside about one cup of the whipped cream and four whole strawberries as a garnish
Cover and refrigerate the trifle for at least two hours or up to 24 hours.
Once our guests arrived, the trifle was removed from the refrigerator, about an hour before serving. This was to allow the pudding to gently soften. Right before serving, the remaining whipped cream and decorative strawberries were placed on top. Ta-Da!
After our delicious Onion-Braised Brisket dinner, it was time for dessert. Our guests were smiling!
Trifles can be “messy” to serve! Just scoop and plate.
TASTING NOTES: What’s not to love? The pudding was creamy and not too sweet (the white chocolate was barely detectable in all honesty). The tartness of the berries was tamed by the sweetness of the pudding and the whipped cream. Next time (and there will be one), I’d be tempted to add a little Amaretto to the cake, and a whisper of almond extract to the whipped cream. I watched guests dig in for a second helping, and that’s the best compliment a baker can receive. Guests were sent home with some trifle, and there was a helping or two left for us. THE FOLLOWING DAY: The trifle was brought to room temperature for about 20 minutes. It was just as delicious as the day we first served it. So, yes, the entire trifle could be prepared a day ahead of time.
Easy Creamy Berry Trifle
Equipment
- 1 Trifle Bowl Or large glass bowl (to showcase the pretty layers)
Ingredients
- 6 cups angels food or sponge cake cubed
- 4 cups vanilla pudding homemade can used boxed pudding for a shortcut
- 4 cups berries fresh variety
- 4 cups whipped cream can use dairy topping for a shortcut
White Chocolate Vanilla Pudding Recipe (optional):
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips optional, see notes
Whipped Cream (in lieu of using dairy topping):
- 3 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Once completely melted, add in cornstarch and whisk until well combined. Let cook 1 minute.
- Whisk in heavy cream and sugar. Stir continually while slowly increasing the heat to medium-high.
- Once the cream thickens and starts to simmer, immediately remove the pan from the heat. Stir in white chocolate chips (if using) until completely melted.
- Gently press plastic wrap, resting on top of the pudding (to prevent a "skin" from forming). Refrigerate until completely cool (at least an hour). (NOTE: I made the pudding a day ahead.)
For the whipped cream:
- Using a chilled bowl, add the three ingredients and whip (with an electric beater) until stiff peaks form.
Assemble the trifle (up to 24 hours before):
- (Optional): Set aside about one cup of berries as a garnish. NOTE: I set aside four larger strawberries as a garnish. Set aside about one cup of whipped cream, for the final garnish. Refrigerate both the berry garnishes and whipped cream, until serving time.
- Add an even layer of cake (about 1/3) on the bottom of a trifle dish (or large glass bowl).
- Spread an even layer of pudding (about 1/3). An off-set spatula makes this a little easier.
- Evenly spread about 1/3 of the berries. TIP: Try to have berries around the edge of the bowl, which makes for a pretty presentation. Top the berries with 2 cups whipped cream.
- Repeat the process two more times.
- Set aside about
Chill the Trifle:
- Cover the trifle with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours, and up to 24 hours ahead of time.
Serve the Trifle:
- Bring the trifle to room temperature about ½ hour before serving. Add the final dollop of whipped cream and berry garnish.
- NOTE: The following day, refrigerated leftovers were just as good to eat.
Notes
- You can use store bought or boxed Angel Food Cake Mix.
- Use a boxed vanilla pudding mix for a shortcut. You can omit the white chocolate, if you wish. I recommend making the pudding one day ahead, so it’s properly chilled and firm.
Leave a Reply