Christmas Trifle
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!
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Servings: 10 Servings
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.