This Christmas Trifle is one of those desserts that looks like you spent all day making it, but it is surprisingly easy to put together. With layers of soft cake, creamy vanilla custard, fluffy whipped cream, and fresh berries. It makes such a pretty centerpiece, and is a showstopper of a dessert, without a lot of effort!
I love a dessert that can be made ahead, especially during the holidays, and this trifle is perfect for that! That gives the layers time to mingle in the refrigerator, making every bite-full soft, creamy, and delicious. Plus, because its served in the glass trifle bowl that means you can show off all those pretty layers.
A couple of weeks ago, I sent an email out asking out 10,000 readers what type of recipes they wanted to see. Overwhelmingly people wanted “Show Stopper Desserts” and chocolate. I’ll admit, I’ve been a slacker on show stoppers, but this one definitely is. It’s the perfect thing when you want to impress!
There are a lot of different ways to make a trifle, but I wanted this Christmas version to feel a little festive, without being overly complicated. This recipe keeps things simple using a store bought cake, simple to make vanilla pudding, fresh berries, homemade whipped cream, and a little fresh herbs for some green color on top.
The combo gives you just the right mixture of textures. The cake is soft, but doesn’t fall apart. The pudding is creamy and rich, and the berries add a little tartness that balances it all out.
Why You Should Make This
- It’s Beautiful: The layers make this dessert an instant table centerpiece. Seeing each layer clearly through the glass trifle bowl, plus some fresh berries and mint or rosemary leaves just make it look so pretty!
- Easy to Assemble: You can prepare each of the layers ahead of time, and even assemble the trifle the day before you need it. The cake will soften a little and soak up the berry juices and the creamy custard, and it makes it even more delicious!
- Perfect for a Group: The big trifle bowl makes plenty of dessert for serving at a holiday party! It serves about 16 people, but smaller portions can be served if you need to serve a few more!
Ingredients Needed
his is a quick overview of some of the ingredients you’ll need for this Christmas Trifle Recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
- Pound Cake: You can use a homemade or store bought cake. You can substitute for any vanilla cake.
- Heavy Cream: Whipping your own cream gives the trifle a light and fluffy texture, and tastes so much better than a prepared whipped topping.
- Raspberries: These add a bright color and fresh flavor, and the tartness is a great contrast to the custard, and sweet cake.
- Raspberry Jam: This makes the berry flavor stronger and better! Homemade raspberry jam, or store bought works great.
- Egg Yolks: We’re making a homemade custard and these help thicken it up. Its easier to separate the eggs when they’re cold.
- Granulated Sugar: This will sweeten the custard.
- Whole Milk: Make sure you use a full fat milk to get a nice and creamy custard.
How to Make a Christmas Trifle
Step 1: Make the Vanilla Custard. Add the Sugar, Cornstarch, and Salt to a medium pot and whisk together. Stir in the milk and bring to a low boil. In another bowl whisk the egg yolks. Add a large scoop of the hot pudding mixture to the eggs and whisk together, then another. Then scoop the mixture back into the pot and let it keep cooking for a few minutes until it is thickened. Stir in the butter and vanilla extract.
Step 2: Make the Whipped Cream. Add the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla to a large bowl and beat until the cream is thick and has peaks. Store in the fridge until needed.
Step 3: Prepare the Other Layers. Mix most of the fresh raspberries with the jam in a bowl. Slice the pound cake into bite sized cubes, each about 1x1inch.
Step 4: Layer the Trifle. Add a layer of half of the cake cubes to the bottom of the trifle bowl. Spoon half the raspberry jam mixture over the top of the cake. Then spoon some of the vanilla custard over the berries. Add a layer of whipped cream. Repeat the layers a second time until you reach the top of the bowl. Add some extra dollops of whipped cream, fresh berries, a dash of powdered sugar, some mint leaves, or white chocolate curls to make the top look extra pretty.
Tips and Tricks
- Use a Clear Trifle Bowl: Half the reason for making a trifle is so we can see all those pretty layers. This is my favorite trifle bowl.
- Make it Pretty: I try and bring a few of my cake pieces and fruit pieces to the edges of the bowl, and make sure when I’m layering you can see a little bit of each layer as it goes up so it will look extra pretty. Also save a few of the prettiest raspberries to put on top of the trifle when its done, and add some garnishes on top.
- Add Alcohol: Christmas Trifle often has a splash of sherry, brandy, rum, or fruit liqueur. You can brush it over the cake layers, or mix a couple Tablespoons in with the raspberry jam layer. If you’re serving this to children, I recommend leaving it out.
- Vanilla Pudding Mix: If you don’t want to make your own vanilla custard, you can instead use two 3.4oz boxed of Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix (mixed according to the box directions).
- Customize the Trifle: Don’t be afraid to switch up the fruit, use a different cake, or add other Christmas flavors. Try brownies instead of pound cake, strawberries instead of raspberries, etc.
Make Ahead Instructions
We want to make our trifle a few hours ahead of time, but not too far in advanced. About 4-24 hours in the fridge is the sweet spot. The trifle will start to get quite soft and squishy after that. It can technically be eaten up to 2 or 3 days later, but the fruit will release more juices and the cake will lose its texture.
If you want to make it a little more in advance you can prepared the individual layers and store them covered in the fridge for up to 48 hours. Then assemble the trifle just a few hours before your event.
This Christmas Trifle is such a beautiful dessert to bring to the holiday table because it gives you a big impressive dessert without a lot of complicated steps, or hours in the kitchen. You’ll love the soft cake, creamy vanilla pudding, and fresh berries.
More Show Stopper Desserts
- Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake
- Austrian Apple Strudel Recipe
- Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
- Cranberry Custard Pie
- Cherry Hand Pies
- Pumpkin Roll // Like Mother Like Daughter
- Chocolate Raspberry Cake // Like Mother Like Daughter
If you make this Christmas Trifle Recipe, please leave a 🌟 rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Christmas Trifle
Ingredients
For the Custard Layer:
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 cup Cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 4 cups Whole Milk
- 6 Large Egg Yolks
- 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter
- 1/2 TBS Vanilla Extract
For the Whipped Cream:
- 1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream
- 3 TBS Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
For the Fruit Layer:
- 6 cups Fresh Raspberries
- 13 oz Raspberry Jam
For Layering:
- 16 oz Pound Cake
- 1/2 cup Fresh Raspberries
- 1 TBS Fresh Mint Leaves (optional garnish)
- 1 TBS White Chocolate Curls (optional garnish)
- Powdered Sugar (optional garnish)
Instructions
For the Custard Layer:
- Add the sugar, cornstarch and salt to a medium sized pot and whisk them together. 1 cup Granulated Sugar , 1/4 cup Cornstarch , 1/4 tsp Salt
- Pour in the milk and whisk it into the sugar mixture. 4 cups Whole Milk
- Heat the mixture over medium high heat, and bring to a low boil.
- While its heating, whisk the egg yolks in a separate medium bowl until the color starts to lighten. 6 Large Egg Yolks
- Add 1/4 cup of the hot pudding mixture to the egg yolks. Whisk it together. Add another 1/4 cup of the pudding to the eggs and whisk it together.
- Scoop the egg mixture back into the pudding mixture in the pot. And let the pudding come back to a low boil over medium low heat.
- Once a couple bubbles pop, cook for a few more minutes as the mixture keeps boiling, until the pudding is thickened. If you have any chunks you can strain your pudding mix through a fine mesh strainer.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla, and butter. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill for 20 to 30 minutes. 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter, 1/2 TBS Vanilla Extract
For the Whipped Cream:
- In a medium or large bowl, add your heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract and beat it until stiff peaks are formed. A stand mixer, or hand mixer work best. 1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream, 3 TBS Powdered Sugar, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Place it in the fridge until needed.
For the Fruit Layer:
- Add the Raspberries and Jam to a medium bowl and carefully fold them together, trying not to squish the raspberries. 6 cups Fresh Raspberries, 13 oz Raspberry Jam
For Layering:
- Cut the pound cake into squares, about 1inch in size each. Add half of the squares to the bottom of the trifle bowl in a single layer. 16 oz Pound Cake
- Spoon half of the raspberry mixture over the top of the cake, make sure to cover the cake pieces evenly.
- Spoon a layer of the custard over the top of fruit until the fruit is fully covered across the top.
- Add a layer of whipped cream evenly over the top of the custard.
- Repeat with one additional layer of each of the layers. This should fill to the top of the layer of the trifle bowl.
- Add dollops of whipped cream around the edges of the trifle. Top the trifle with fresh raspberries, fresh mint leaves, white chocolate curls and a dusting of powdered sugar if desired. 1/2 cup Fresh Raspberries, 1 TBS Fresh Mint Leaves, 1 TBS White Chocolate Curls, Powdered Sugar
- Cover the trifle with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving.
Notes
- Use a Clear Trifle Bowl: Half the reason for making a trifle is so we can see all those pretty layers. This is my favorite trifle bowl.
- Make it Pretty: I try and bring a few of my cake pieces and fruit pieces to the edges of the bowl, and make sure when I’m layering you can see a little bit of each layer as it goes up so it will look extra pretty. Also save a few of the prettiest raspberries to put on top of the trifle when its done, and add some garnishes on top.
- Add Alcohol: Christmas Trifle often has a splash of sherry, brandy, rum, or fruit liqueur. You can brush it over the cake layers, or mix a couple Tablespoons in with the raspberry jam layer. If you’re serving this to children, I recommend leaving it out.
- Vanilla Pudding Mix: If you don’t want to make your own vanilla custard, you can instead use two 3.4oz boxed of Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix (mixed according to the box directions).
- Customize the Trifle: Don’t be afraid to switch up the fruit, use a different cake, or add other Christmas flavors. Try brownies instead of pound cake, strawberries instead of raspberries, etc.
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