English Trifle
As an Amazon Affilate, I earn commission on qualifying purchases.
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.
What a gorgeous trifle! I totally love the amaretto in there.
thanks Ann! It was yummy…I love almond flavor.
Hi, can you please tell me how many people one recipe would typically feed?
thank you
Hi Michelle, It does serve a lot! 16-20. That’s why we make it only at Christmas when we’re having a big group. We usually have 14-16 people, but serve TWO different desserts so there’s always plenty leftover as well.
Most excellent! I am a serious fan of the trifle, and this is one of thebest I’ve ever seen! Thank you 🙂
Michele…it was delicious!
Hi! I just read through this recipe and ingredient list, and I am WOWED by the flavors and techniques. I am a recipe developer and have an uncanny ability to taste foods before they are made..lol!
Thx for the great recipe, I will try to make this yet, for the Holidays.
Following you…:)
Thanks Teri! Welcome! It was delicious!
Oh my, this looks beautiful, I am British and just want to dive right into this, yummy. The almond pound cake sounds amazing, I love that taste so much, thanks for sharing such a favorite classic with a twist 🙂
Angela, totally worth making and of course you could probably zip up the Bird’s custard by just adding some Amaretto to it!
Wow Cynthia, this Christmas trifle looks like the perfect dessert. I can’t wait until Christmas, I need to try this now! And the pictures are really nice 🙂 Cheers! -Del
Thanks Del! Let me know how it turns out!
It is so beautiful, that firs scoop must be heart-breaking! I love the idea of raspberry and amaretto together, it sounds delightful. The amaretto and Marsala wine don’t clash with each other?
Andi,
haha…Yes, I guess the first scoop is the hardest! Almond is one of my favorite flavors. No, the marsala and the amaretto did not clash…the bowl was licked clean between the 14 of us!
I’ve wanted a great pear recipe for a long time. Can’t wait to try this.
Pears have such a fleeting season…I love the pear and almond combo.
this looks so amazing!! 🙂 we learned to poach pears for the very first time last month, and it wasn’t as complicated as I had thought all my life!
Esther Julee, what did you do with that pears after you poached them? Did you eat them as is or put them into another dessert?
we ate them with a sauce drizzled over them! next time i will have to try putting them in a different dessert.
Holy cow, I can practically taste this bowl of awesomeness! I’m sure it tastes even more amazing than it looks and that’s really saying something about the flavor as it looks INCREDIBLE!
Thanks Christina! It was a beauty and filled with all my favorite flavors!
Thanks for sharing! I will make this over the holidays. I will rate once I try it.
Wowsa! This looks so amazing and beautiful! I would love to dig in that and taste all those tempting flavors together. Visiting from The Weekend Social! Happy Holidays to you!
Thank you kim! Happy holidays to you as well!
Cynthia, your trifle is just gorgeous and I love the poached pear and raspberry combo. Thanks so much for sharing at The Weekend Social. Always love seeing you here. Please come back again Thursday 9:00 PM EST. http://www.theKitchenChopper.com Pinned, Heart’d and YUM’d!
I love that your Christmas dinner was a black tie affair. I love the elegance of dressing up. It shows respect for the food, and each other!
It was a magical time Kelly!
This is an absolute showstopper of a trifle, Cynthia! I completely understand using Bird’s custard and also do so myself as it reminds me of the trifles from home, but obviously homemade is best! Your mother’s trifle is absolutely awesome! She can come make one at my house anytime!
of course, Bird’s custard does hold a special place in my heart too!
A beautiful trifle like this really can transport you to another time and place. I know if I was able to savor a serving, I’d close my eyes and pretend (wish) I was in England. 😉
Yes, Heather…Christmas dinners remind me my wonderful time there!
This looks amazing! I admit that I can’t see a trifle without thinking of the Friends episode when Rachel made the trifle with meat.
Your dessert looks absolutely delicious and so festive. Just love it!
This is so pretty!!
Thank you Mandy!
Trifles are always so gorgeous! I love that people get dressed up for Chistmas, makes it feel like even more of a special occasion.
Totally Karen! We don’t get as dressed up here in America as we did in England!
I’m in love with this trifle and this looks absolutely beautiful! I never spend Christmas in London, so meanwhile let me try this festive trifle and bring London home.
Thank you Joy!
We almost moved to England last year as part of a military thing and I’m a little sad I didn’t get a chance to go! This Trifle sounds and looks AMAZING! <3
Oh, that would have a been so much fun Jenn! I loved living there!
That sounds like quite the fancy Christmas Dinner party back in England! This sounds like a perfect festive dessert : ))
Christmas in England was always a bit fancier!
That looks pretty intense. I’d probably eat the whole thing myself!
Matt, it’s definitely a dessert for a crowd…but even when there’s just a dozen of us, we manage to make a pretty good dent in it!
This is stunning!! I lived in England for 7 years and trifle became, and has remained, one of my all-time favorite desserts. Yours looks and sounds incredible!
I loved living there Kimberly! This brings a bit of England to LA!
You’ve painted a cozy picture of Christmas in England. I’ve love to do that one year. Until then, I’ll just have to make this and pretend :)!
It was a cozy and lovely time…I make it every year and pretend!