English Trifle
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Traditional English Trifle is a classic dessert with layers of pound cake, crème anglaise, fresh fruit, and whipped cream. It is most commonly served at Christmas time, although the British prime rib restaurant I worked at in the mid 80s served it year round. This holiday trifle uses fresh raspberries and poached pears, making it as delicious as it is beautiful. I’ve included the information and recipes for every step of this beautiful traditional trifle, but if you want some shortcuts, I’ve also included those!
(This post was originally published on December 6th, 2012)
What is trifle?
Trifle is a traditional English layered dessert usually made for Christmas or a special occasion. A proper English trifle has layers of pound cake, angel food cake, or sponge fingers, thick custard, (Bird’s is common), jelly (the English word for jello), raspberry jam, and whipped cream. Each layer of cake is drizzled with sherry then left to set in the refrigerator a a few hours. It’s served in a footed trifle bowl, but any large glass bowl will work just as well.
Traditional Christmas Dessert
I have warm memories of Christmases spent in England. We’d drive up from London for a few days to my friend’s family home in North Yorkshire. The dining room was large enough to hold one long table which sat 24 family members and one far-from home expat-Californian.
Mr. R., as the host, wore a smoking jacket and “slippers,“ while all the other men wore dinner jackets with fancy waistcoats. We women wore long gowns. Christmas dinner was definitely a black tie affair. It was all very “Downton Abbey!”
In addition to the plum pudding brought to the table soaked in alcohol and set afire, there was a gorgeous Christmas trifle dessert. Ever since then, Christmas really isn’t Christmas without it. Many years ago Mom set the dessert bar even higher when she adapted Emeril Lagasse’s poached pear and raspberry trifle.
She made a few changes. Instead of using a store bought pound cake, she made a gluten-free almond pound cake, (my favorite flavor!) sprinkled with a combination of Amaretto (more almond flavor!) and Marsala. Homemade custard isn’t very difficult and is far tastier! It’s definitely the best Christmas trifle recipe we’ve had yet!
How to Make English Christmas Trifle
To make this Christmas trifle recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients. For best results, make the pound cake, creme anglaise, and poached pears a day in advance. The recipes for each of the components are linked below.
- Almond pound cake
- Creme Anglaise (custard mixture)
- Fresh raspberries
- Poached pears
- heavy cream
- Amaretto and Marsala wine (you can also use sherry in place of the wine)
- Sliced almonds for garnish.
Assembling the trifle
Having the ingredients ready in advance means you can put the whole dessert together in less than 30 minutes. The whipped cream should be made just before you plan to use it. You’ll need a large glass trifle bowl so the layers of the trifle can be seen. You can use a glass salad bowl, but to make it a real show-stopper, use a glass Christmas trifle bowl.
Cut the pound cake into thick slices or cubes. Using ⅓ of the pound cake, layer it in the bottom of the bowl. Sprinkle the cake with some of the Marsala and Amaretto.
Next, layer some pears and raspberries on top of the layer of pound cake.
Then pour about 1/3 of the creme Anglaise or custard layer over the fruit.
Begin again with another layer of pound cake, Marsala and Amaretto, fruit, and custard. Repeat one more time for a total of three layers.
Over the top layer of custard, add a thin layer of whipped cream as a base and then pipe rosettes.
Garnish with more raspberries, toasted slivered almonds and fresh mint.
Want to simplify this trifle recipe?
This recipe uses Gluten-Free Almond Pound Cake, but you can use store-bought pound cake. Sara Lee pound cake is a great substitute! Canned pears packed in their own juice for an easy Christmas trifle.
For an easier version of creme anglaise, try Bird’s custard powder. It’s not as fresh tasting and yummy as from scratch, but it’s a classic British ingredient and far easier. Bird’s can be found at most grocery stores.
From there, you’ll just need to assemble the trifle. Just don’t cheat on the fresh whipped cream!
Here are some items for a classic English Christmas party!
Every English Christmas celebration includes a Christmas Cracker. Each cracker includes a paper party hat, a joke and a trinket.
More Christmas dessert recipes!
English Trifle
Ingredients
- 3 cups creme Anglaise (or prepared Bird's custard)
- 1 12 ounces pound cake crusts trimmed
- 1/3 cup marsala wine or sherry
- 1/3 cup amaretto
- 4 large pears poached, and sliced into wedges.
- 4 cups raspberries fresh or frozen and thawed
Whipped Cream
- 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
- 2 cups whipping cream
- fresh raspberries and mint leaves for garnish
Instructions
Whipped Cream
- In a medium bowl, whip cream with the confectioner's sugar until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
Macerate the berries
- In a separate mixing bowl toss the berries with 2 tablespoons Marsala, stirring to bruise the berries slightly.
Assembling the trifle
- To assemble the trifle cut the cake into 1/2-inch thick slices to fit tightly into the bottom of a trifle bowl (or a 1 1/2-quart decorative glass bowl).
- Drizzle or sprinkle the cake layer with Marsala and Amaretto.
- Layer 1/3 of the pears and raspberries over the top of the cake, followed by 1/3 of the creme Anglaise or custard.
- Repeat the process, creating a total of three layers with the remaining ingredients.
- Spread whipped cream on top, then pipe rosettes of whipped cream.
- Garnish with raspberries and slivered almonds.
Notes
- Pears can be poached a day ahead of time.
- Bird’s Custard powder can be used instead of homemade custard.
- prepared pound cake can be substituted for homemade.
- Nutritional values are hard to calculate. I’ve based it on the recipe card’s nutritional data base for a purchased pound cake and prepared custard.
- Servings can range from 16 to 24. Nutritional value is based on 18.
We have a nut allergy- what can I sub for amaretto?
Instead of amaretto, substitute brandy, sherry or Marsala. For the pound cake, a Sarah Lee or a homemade pound cake that’s nut free is great.
Hi Cynthia, I am pregnant this Christmas, do you know a nonalcoholic substitute I can use instead of Amaretto? What would the trifle be like if I skipped this step entirely? Thanks!
Hi Madison,
You could use a little fruit juice like apple and add some almond extract to it to give it that almondy flavor. Maybe a teaspoon to 1/2 cup fruit juice? Merry Christmas, Cynthia
Could the following substitutions be made:(1) vanilla pudding in place of the custard; (2) strawberries for raspberries; (3) canned pears for poached pears? Thank you.
Strawberries and canned pears absolutely. For the vanilla pudding a better option would be to use Bird’s Custard which you can get via my Amazon link or if you’re close to a CostPlus World Market they definitely have it! Possibly even a regular grocery store? If you’re in a large cosmopolitan city and have a British market they’d have it too.
Oh MY, it looks great! Can’t wait to cook em this Sunday!
This recipe is just like the incredible trifle I grew up making in the UK – it’s the real classic. Lovely!
Thank you June! I appreciate your comments.
Combination of pears and raspberries is yum. This dessert is a treat. Love your presentation too.
thank you!
We make this trifle all year round! It’s way too delicious to save it for Christmas only!
I agree! Perfect for Easter and Mother’s Day too!
Outstanding recipe thanks so much! tasted so much good!
Love this trifle so so much! I was nervous that it might be complicated or overwhelming, but if you make all the components ahead of time as instructed it’s actually super manageable. The assembly itself is really straightforward and not at all intimidating. Can’t wait to make it again!
Thank you! Yes, there are a lot of moving parts, but a lot can be made ahead of time.
Being a British girl, I love my trifle all year round. It was so tasty and amazing!
Thank you!
Nice post
Gorgeous and delicious Christmas dessert. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you!
This turned out unbelievable – definitely worth it and I look forward to making it again!
Thanks so much!
This is the best trifle I’ve ever had. LOVED the amaretto in it!
one of my favorite flavors!
This is such a gorgeous holiday dessert!! I’m adding this to our Christmas party menu – I know our guests will love it and it’s perfect for serving a big crowd!
yes! perfect for a crowd!
This is such a showstopper! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
thank you!
This looks delicious. Could I use Birds Custard? I’d like to make for Christmas.
“Enter”
Absolutely! you can even use a store bought pound cake and canned pears!
I made this for Xmas day as I was asked to bring dessert and thought nothing is more christmassy than trifle. This was a show stopper. Everyone could not stop raving about how good it tasted. I made the poached pears in a red wine and spice syrup. I made a Creme anglaise from scratch and made the pound cake myself. I did exactly what your recipe stated with the assembly and was very easy to follow and prepare. Definitely will be making this again. 100% satisfaction.
Thanks so much! I appreciate it! Glad it was a success!
I made this … my first trifle! For Christmas dinner. I poached the pears and prepared the custard the day before. I followed your recipe exactly and it turned out beautifully and delicious!
Aww! Thanks so much! It’s a lot of work but worth it!
This looks amazing but we don’t drink alcohol. Is there a substitute?
what about just using the extra juice from the pears and raspberries?
Love this recipe, i use Birds Custard. It’s a family tradition, as parents were from the UK.
Enter, teatowel! Love it btw!
I’m looking to make this for a Christmas brunch. Looking for a short cut on the pear part. Can you just use fresh pears or do they need to be poached? Can you use spiced bottled pears? Thanks.
Hi Carl,
Absolutely! You can sub the poached pears for canned or spiced pears if you wish. The only problem with fresh pears is that they might go brown in places.
Another way you can cut corners and save time is by using a pre-packaged pound cake (Sara Lee if you’re in the States), and Bird’s Custard. Then it’s pretty easy to throw together.
I would use real cream for the whipped cream though. Hope that helps, Cynthia
It does thank you. I figured you’d warn me about the pear browning. I’m comfortable with the complexity even if this would be my first crack at poaching pears. Haven’t made crème anglaise in ages. Do you find it too thin or do you thicken it somehow without making it too eggy? This will be a great warm up attempt to inspire for a Spring trip to London coming.
Hi Carl,
You want the creme anglaise to be about the consistency of thin pudding, or pancake batter. A spring trip to London should be wonderful! I used to live in London and it’s my favorite city in the world!
Be still my beating heart! This definitely looks like something you’d make to enjoy on a Sunday lol. I most get right to it to see exact how it tastes, or my tongue will never forgive me! #enter
I like how English Christmas Cake feels traditional and indulgent, offering deep flavors that really stand out