Fresh berries, light whipped cream, thick homemade pudding, moist cake – this fruity dessert is packed with some of our favorite things. This is an impressive dish to bring to your next barbecue. Warm weather and fresh berries go so well together, right? You can't go wrong when you add homemade whipped cream and vanilla pudding.
Make your own angel food cake Rachel's perfect angel food cake recipe.
Why our recipe?
- Optional homemade instructions for every step of the trifle to build from the ground up.
- Tried and true and a crowd favorite for years.
- This recipe is so easy to personalize with your favorite cake and berries.
Your guests will be amazed at how gorgeous and delicious this humble dessert is. Very easy to put together once you've done a bit of prep work! The hardest part is having the patience to let it cool before you dig in. It's relatively mildly sweet, so it's perfect for picnics or outdoor parties. Perfect for potlucks and barbecues as this is a beautiful dish that will be the star of the show. You can make from scratch with our homemade recipes for each ingredient or use store shortcuts for quick and easy assembly.
Materials
- cake: You have a few options between angel food cake, sponge cake and pound cake. Use your favorite!
- Fresh Berries: Be sure to use fresh, as frozen will do. Choose your favorite berry—blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, or strawberry. For the famous trifle look, visually arrange the fruit around the edges of the dish before filling in the middle.
- White Chocolate Pudding And Whipped cream: We go crazy for our homemade whipped cream and white chocolate pudding. There is something so satisfying about knowing exactly what ingredients you put in your food! That said, in a pinch, you can use store-bought.
Cake options
This recipe uses angel food cake, which acts as a blank canvas for other flavors to soak in. Sponge cake is a traditional option and has a slightly denser texture than the light and airy angel food cake, but doesn't soak up as much flavor. For a denser, decadent dessert, pound cake is your go-to. Each of these cakes will retain their shape when cut into cubes. We recommend avoiding a plain yellow cake as it will just crumble.
Serving bowl option
No trifle dishes at home? No problem! No need to run to the store and pick one up. Unless you're planning to be a fruit trifle lover, there's no pressure to serve up special dishes. You can easily use a deep, glass bowl. Always try to carry a clean bowl – admiring the different layers of your decadent dessert is one of the best parts of making (and eating) this dish!
You can layer your trifle into individual servings using any small glass cup. Mason jars, ice cream bowls, clear plastic cups or even a lowball drinking glass will work great.
Easy-to-make variety
This is a berry trifle recipe, but there are lots of variations! Here are some of our favorites to try now:
- Use a different flavor of pudding: Strawberry, pistachio, butterscotch, banana, caramel, lemon, or cheesecake come to mind!
- Try different fruits: Peaches, nectarines, mangoes, bananas or pineapples are all great options for trifles. The key is to use soft fruit.
- Make it a chocolate trifle: Use chocolate pudding, chocolate cake or pound cake and a chocolate whipped cream. Chocolate goes great with berries.
Make-Ahead Instructions
You can definitely make your dessert the day before you plan to serve it. In fact, some chefs swear by making this dessert ahead of time! This gives the flavors enough time to come together for a more flavorful result. We recommend that you serve yours anywhere from 2 to 24 hours after making it. Hold off adding the top layer of whipped cream and berries until just before eating for best results.
Storage instructions
Keep in fridge Any unlikely leftovers by wrapping the serving bowl tightly in plastic wrap before refrigerating for up to 3 days.
