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Mixed Berry Trifle with layers of fresh fruit and sweet pound cake.
Everybody loves a colorful, delicious Mixed Berry Trifle!
Our Mixed Berry Trifle is made with layers of fresh berries, chunks of sweet pound cake smeared with a little strawberry jam and a luscious vanilla cream custard. This lovely dessert is great for any occasion, it’s easy to make and it serves a crowd!
Trifles are like cookies; there are endless variations and flavor combinations limited only by our imagination. No matter what you put in a trifle it feels like a celebration dessert and perfect for holidays. Our Mixed Berry Trifle is great for patriotic holidays and is best made ahead so the flavors blend together and meld into this nice fluffy dessert.
For our Mixed Berry Trifle we use vanilla custard instead of boxed pudding.
Many trifle recipes include pudding as the creamy layer and while I don’t have anything against pudding, I prefer this eggy vanilla cream custard. It’s thicker than pudding, doesn’t sink to the bottom of the bowl and is light and fluffy too.
What kind of cake should you use for this trifle?
You can use any kind of cake in this recipe but I like something that holds together well because I usually serve it the next day. Half my favorite Pound Cake recipe is perfect and I’m always thrilled with the results. Each piece of cake is smeared with a little strawberry or raspberry jam before being layered into the trifle. That little touch of jam really adds tons of flavor and a nice jammy tang to each bite.
I love the red, white and blue theme and could serve this for any or all of the patriotic holidays in the United States.
All you need is a 4 quart trifle bowl, or make mini-trifles by using a bunch of small clear bowls or jars. I love being able to see the layers but this trifle will be just as good in a regular large mixing bowl too.
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Mixed Berry Trifle Recipe
Ingredients
For the fruit:
- 3 cups strawberries sliced in half or quartered, plus more for top garnish
- 3 cups blueberries plus ½cup for top garnish
For the cake layer:
- 1 prepared pound cake large loaf size - or two small store-bought cut into cubes (trimmed of dark edges if preferred)
- 1 cup strawberry or raspberry jam
For the vanilla custard:
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature, cut into small pieces
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
Instructions
To prepare the vanilla custard:
- Fill a medium saucepan half-full with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low.
- In a large heat-proof mixing bowl whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. This mixture will be super thick but once warmed the sugar will melt. Set the bowl with the egg mixture on top of the hot water creating a double boiler (the bowl should not touch the water.) Cook, whisking constantly for 8-10 minutes or until the eggs thicken and the sugar is no longer grainy. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla. This is your sabayon.
- Add the cream cheese to the sabayon in pieces, and blend with a rubber spatula until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. The cream cheese will mix-in easier if it’s room temperature or slightly warm.
- In a clean mixing bowl, beat the whipping cream to stiff (but not dry) peaks. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold about ⅓ of the custard into the whipped cream taking care not to deflate the mixture. Add the remaining custard and blend until smooth. The vanilla custard should be light and fluffy.
To assemble the trifle:
- Spread a small amount of jam on one side of each piece of pound cake. This can be done as you add them to the bowl if desired.
- - Line the bottom (around the outside edge) of a 4-quart trifle bowl with sliced strawberries in a decorative pattern if desired. Fill-in the bottom of the bowl with ⅓ of the cake slices, jam side up.- Top the cake layer with ⅓ of the vanilla custard. Spread evenly.- Add the blueberries on top of the custard.- Add half the remaining cake cubes on top of the blueberries, jam side up.- Add half the remaining vanilla custard.- Layer the strawberries over the custard, reserving those set aside for garnish.- Top with the remaining cake cubes, jam side up.- Spread the remaining vanilla custard on top.- Garnish with sliced strawberries and blueberries in a decorative pattern.
- Lightly cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. May be made a day in advance.
Recipe Notes
- We use half our favorite Pound Cake Recipe found HERE
- You can substitute 1 prepared angel food cake for the pound cake if desired.
- Strawberry and blueberry garnish
- 1/3 vanilla cream
- 1/3 cake with jam
- strawberries
- 1/3 vanilla cream
- 1/3 cake with jam
- blueberries
- 1/3 vanilla cream
- 1/3 cake with jam and outside edge lined with strawberries
Nutrition
Kitchen Essentials – the trifle bowl
Once you have a pretty trifle bowl in your pantry, you’re going to find dozens of ways to use it. Fill it with dessert, fruit, dips, breads or anything you want. Click on the photo for more information on this trifle bowl or to purchase through Amazon.
Saving Room for Dessert is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program ~ I earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you, which I use to pay for web hosting and services for this blog.
Here are a few more recipes you might enjoy:
Enjoy this patriotic themed holiday dessert for Star-Studded Berry Tarts with Vanilla Pastry Cream. All it takes is a little red, white, and blue and a star or two and you’re ready to celebrate!
How about this Nectarine Blueberry Pie for a little holiday themed dessert? Complete with how-to video … check it out!
You gotta check out this easy and absolutely perfect Flag Cupcake Cake from I Am Baker. It’s such a wonderful patriotic dessert and so pretty too. Another crowd favorite and fun celebration treat is this Patriotic Party Mix from The Baker Mama. Also loving this beautiful Patriotic Stars and Stripes Berry Pie from That Skinny Chick Can Bake, so creative!
Medha
Hi! This recipe looks great. Can I make the custard the night before so that it takes less time to assemble the day of the party? Or will the whipped cream collapse by then?
Tricia Buice
Hi Medha. Great question! Sabayon is pretty stable so I think it would do fine. However, I would not stir it the next day and only scoop portions out as needed to layer. This dessert only gets better after it sits and has time to meld so I would not hesitate to make the entire trifle the night before and wait to garnish the top with fresh cut fruit the next day. Enjoy!
John / Kitchen Riffs
Trifle is good stuff, and not something you see all that often (at least in the US — it’s a much bigger deal in England). Custard, not pudding, for me, too. This looks beautiful — and delicious! — thanks.
Tricia Buice
Thanks John – we need more trifles in the US!
soom
In my English family’s recipe, Gram (from Hastings) always brushed the day old cake with rum (flavoring only–tea total!) then raspberry (rhaz-bry) jam, etc. The next day, the trifle is twice as good! She also studded the top with some pieces of canned fruit cocktail (?!) and some almond slivvers poked vertically into the top layer of whipped cream.
Tricia Buice
Sounds terrific! I love these ideas. Thanks for sharing.
Monica
This is so pretty, Tricia. I can just imagine working on this and then stepping back to see the beautiful colors and layers. I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend with your family.
Tricia Buice
We had a lovely weekend attending a friends wedding in Tennessee. Hope you enjoyed the long weekend too and hope your little man is out of school and ready for summer!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
Wow! Stunning. Such a great treat for a special occasion 🙂 Hope you had a great long weekend.
Tricia Buice
We did Jennifer – went to Tennessee for a wedding so lots of in-car traveling. Thanks for stopping by!
Gerlinde
Tricia, that is a gorgeous looking trifle and I would love to have just a little taste right now.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Gerlinde – hope you’re enjoying the holiday weekend 🙂
Liz
Trifles make such terrific summer desserts! This would be perfect for the Fourth!!!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Liz! Fun to make and easy to eat – thanks so much!
Susan
So pretty!! I love that this can be made a day ahead. We just entertained yesterday and I could have used a few do-ahead recipes as I’m exhausted today 🙂
Tricia Buice
I bet – we traveled to a wedding 600 miles away – such fun but long trip. Enjoy your day off Susan, nd save this Trifle for July 4th!
Sheryl
This trifle looks absolutely stunning. I am drooling at the sight of it!
Tricia Buice
Thank you so much Sheryl! Have a wonderful holiday 🙂
monique
Looks great..I read there would be something about a privacy policy..don’t see it.So confused Tricia..what is this ? Is it the one for the UK?
Lol? I have received so many!
Tricia Buice
Hi Monique – there was a link to the Privacy Policy in the email, also a link at the bottom of my site and another link under the “About Me” section. Sorry it was hard to find. We are all updating our privacy policies due to the UK GDPR going into affect. We have some UK visitors / readers and want to make sure we are compliant with GDPR and other laws requiring notification of personal information tracking. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
sue @theviewfromgreatisland
My youngest daughter’s birthday is coming up and she’s requested a strawberry cake, I think I’ll surprise her with this epic trifle!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Sue – I hope she loves it too 🙂
Angie@Angie's Recipes
That looks stunning! I just can’t get enough of berries at this time of year…sweet, juicy and full of fresh aroma..awesome!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Angie!!!