Berry Trifle is an easy no-bake dessert filled with layers of pound cake or angel food cake, pastry cream using instant pudding and fresh berries.
This berry trifle recipe uses homemade or store-bought cake, serves a crowd and perfect for picnics, backyard barbecues or an easy holiday dessert. Simple to make, delicious flavors and can be made ahead.
Berry trifles are a great easy summer dessert, ready in less than 30-minutes. Traditional English trifles have layers of fruit, sponge cake and custard that’s topped with whipped cream. Our version, is one of the easiest and most delicious desserts.
Why this recipe works
- Uses simple ingredients – Use store-bought or homemade angel food, pound cake or lady fingers. Items are readily available at most grocery stores.
- Prep ahead of time – Make ahead of time and refrigerate overnight.
- Ease – Using store-bought ingredients saves time and doesn’t heat up the oven during hot summer months.
- Flavor – Layers of cake absorb berry juices. Pudding with almond extract, folded with whipped cream is beyond delicious!
- Easy dessert – One of the easiest desserts to make, perfect for any occasion.
What you’ll need
- Cake – Angel food cake, pound cake, or lady fingers are perfect for a berry trifle dessert.
- Pudding mix – Vanilla instant pudding or another flavor you prefer.
- Almond extract – Added to the pudding for added flavor. (Just like my grandmother made her cream puffs!)
- Milk – Preferably whole milk, but you can substitute 2% if needed.
- Heavy cream – Used to make homemade whipped cream and folded with chilled pudding.
- Fresh berries – Use berries you prefer. We love strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.
- Mint leaves – Optional, but a beautiful garnish. Add edible flowers or lavender works too.
How to make a Berry Trifle
Prepare ingredients
- Make the pudding according to the package instructions, adding almond extract.
- Make whipped cream & refrigerate.
- Rinse berries with cold water in a colander and set aside to dry.
- Slice strawberries, toss with granulated sugar, refrigerate to make juices. (if desired)
- Cut angel food or pound cake into cubes or small slices, set aside.
Assemble trifle
- Fold chilled pudding and whipped cream together.
- In a trifle dish or serving bowl, layer cake pieces in the bottom.
- Add about half of the pastry cream filling over the cake layer.
- Layer strawberry slices around the edges of the trifle dish.
- Add berries in the center.
- Repeat the process until the dish is full.
- Garnish with fresh berries, mint leaves and edible flowers (optional).
- Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.
This trifle recipe is the perfect no-bake summer dessert, but also makes a great holiday dessert. It’s a crowd pleaser and super easy to make!
Variations
- Use different cakes – Substitute lady fingers for the angel food or pound cake.
- Create fruit juices – Toss strawberries with a few tablespoons of granulated sugar & refrigerate to create juices.
- Use different fruit or berries – Fresh peach slices or bananas would work great too.
- Use different pudding flavors – Vanilla pudding is a classic, but lemon pudding or another flavor would be also delicious.
- Use Cool Whip – While we prefer homemade whipped cream, Cool Whip or whipped topping can be an easy option to fold with chilled pudding.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. A trifle dessert can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight. This not only helps with ease of prep time, it also helps flavors marry.
We do not recommend freezing a trifle, as it will become soggy when thawed.
More easy dessert recipes
- Southern Pound Cake
- Old-fashioned Strawberry Shortcake
- Raspberry Bars
- Peach Cobbler Recipe
- Lemon Loaf Cake
- Lemon Crinkle Cookies
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Berry Trifle
Ingredients
Berry Trifle
- 1 pound cake or angel food cake (homemade or store-bought) cut into slices
- 1 quart (16-ounces) fresh strawberries hulled and sliced
- 1 pint (12-ounces) fresh blueberries
- 1 pint (12-ounces) fresh blackberries
- additional fresh berries (for garnish)
- fresh mint leaves (for garnish)
Pastry Cream Filling
- 1 (3.4-ounce) package Instant vanilla pudding (instant pudding mix)
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Pastry Cream Filling
- Prepare pastry cream filling by making the pudding and whipped cream in separate bowls and refrigerating for a minimum of 30-minutes.
- In a large bowl add the vanilla pudding, milk, and almond extract; blend together with a whisk, beating for 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes. (the pudding will set)
- In a large mixing bowl, add the heavy cream and use an electric hand mixer to whip to stiff peaks.
- Cover the whipped cream and refrigerate until assembling the trifle.
- Right prior to assembling the trifle, use a spatula to fold the chilled pudding mixture and whipped cream together.
Berry Trifle
- Cut pound cake or angel food cake into small slices or small cubes (about 1-inch).
- To assemble the berry trifle; layer small slices of cake in an even layer in the bottom of a trifle dish.
- Add about half of the pastry cream filling over the cake.
- Layer slices of strawberries around the edge of the trifle dish. Fill the center area with a mixture of berries.
- Repeat this process until the trifle dish is full.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Trifle is best consumed within 1-2 days.
- Refrigerate a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.
- Add fresh mint leaves and edible flowers for garnish.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
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Meg says
I saw this and HAD to make it for my kids! They absolutely loved it and asked me to make it again. Five stars!
Jessica Robinson says
oh thank you!!! It’s so simple to make and that cream filling is my grandmother’s cream puff filling. To die for
Lisa Hatfield says
The BEST trifle! So easy and perfect for Summer picnics and cookouts. A huge hit with our family. Thanks Jessica!
Jessica Robinson says
So glad to hear you enjoyed it. It’s a favorite in our household.