This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy for additional information.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This English Christmas Trifle is surprisingly easy to make and always makes a show-stopping centrepiece for any holiday gathering. Simple, elegant, and delicious: this classic is a must-have for your festive traditions.
This classic English Christmas Trifle—layered with fruit, white cake, amaretto, custard, and whipped cream—is surprisingly simple to make and always looks stunning on the holiday table. It’s an elegant dessert that’s perfect for Christmas and deserves to be enjoyed far beyond the British Isles.
Do you really want to impress your guests this Christmas? Why not try this Homemade Amaretto recipe that you can then use in your trifle and also serve in a cocktail? Also, don’t forget to learn How To Make A Perfect Whipped Cream to use in your trifle!
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This trifle is surprisingly easy to make and looks impressive on any holiday table.
- Total Time: The cooking time for this recipe depends on the instructions provided with the cake mix you use; however, the preparation time is approximately 20 minutes.
- Variations: While this recipe uses canned pears and fresh raspberries, you can easily substitute other fruits, such as strawberries (sometimes considered the more traditional option), blueberries (make a great replacement if you do not have raspberries on hand), or even bananas (definitely the more unorthodox choice but worth trying). Feel free to use your favourites!
- Tools For This Recipe: To make this Christmas trifle, you’ll need a few basic kitchen tools: a 9×13 baking pan for baking the cake, a mixing bowl for preparing custard and whipped cream, and a trifle bowl or 1 1/2-quart decorative glass bowl to layer and showcase your beautiful dessert.
What You’ll Need for Ingredients
Birds Custard: a classic choice for trifle. This custard is smooth, creamy, and easy to make while adding the perfect nostalgic touch to this traditional dessert.
White Cake: This cake offers a mild flavour and lets the other ingredients shine, even if ladyfingers are typically used. Karlynn’s Tip: If you prefer a more classic touch, Madeira cake is an excellent option with a unique flavour, though it may be harder to source.
Heavy Cream, Confectioner’s Sugar: whipped together, these create a light, sweet whipped cream that adds a creamy, airy layer to the trifle
Amaretto: adds a warm, nutty depth that perfectly complements the fruit and custard, giving the dessert a festive, grown-up twist.
Pears and Raspberries: these add a lovely balance to the trifle, as pears bring a subtle sweetness and raspberries add a bright, tart contrast to keep each bite fresh and flavorful.
Slivered Almonds, Raspberries and Mint Leaves for garnish: add a touch of crunch, colour and freshness to finish the dessert beautifully.
How To Make English Christmas Trifle
This is a quick overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and complete step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Prepare Birds Custard and set aside.
- Bake white cake mix in a 9×13 pan according to box instructions.
- Beat 2 cups heavy confectioners’ sugar until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Toss diced pears and raspberries with 2 tablespoons of amaretto, gently bruising the berries.
- Slice the cake into 1/2-inch pieces to fit the bottom of a trifle bowl.
- Drizzle cake with amaretto.
- Layer 1/3 of the fruit, then 1/3 custard over the cake.
- Repeat layers two more times.
- Top with whipped cream and pipe rosettes.
- Garnish with raspberries, slivered almonds, and mint leaves.
- Cover and refrigerate until serving. Enjoy!
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for the Perfect English Christmas Trifle
- Do you need to use Bird’s Custard for this recipe? Bird’s Custard is the traditional custard filling, just like you use in Nanaimo Bars, so just order or pick up a can of Bird’s Custard or even one of their ready-made packets that you need to add milk or water to. If you really want to go above and beyond, though, you could make a homemade custard yourself.
- Layering Methods: This recipe guides you through layering each component in a specific way, but feel free to mix it up. For example, instead of cake at the bottom, you can start with a jelly fruit layer. The choice mainly affects the texture. The cake in the middle will be softer and soggier, while the cake on the bottom or top will stay a bit crispier and crumblier. Choose what you like best!
Storage Instructions
Trifle is best made and enjoyed fresh to enjoy its perfect balance of textures and flavours, but it can be stored! Just keep in mind the layers may soften over time.
Refrigerator: Cover it tightly with plastic wrap or a lid if your trifle bowl has one to keep it fresh. It will keep for 2-3 days, though the texture may soften as the layers sit.
Freezer: Technically, you can freeze trifle, but it’s not recommended. Freezing can affect the texture of several key components (especially the custard, whipped cream, and fruit), causing them to become watery, grainy, or separated. The cake layers can also turn mushy. If necessary, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil, then freeze it for up to 1 month. Allow it to thaw slowly in the fridge overnight.
More Delicious Christmas Dessert Recipes
- Pineapple Upside Down Bread Pudding. This easy recipe combines bread pudding with pineapple upside-down cake, making it perfect for a weekend breakfast or dessert.
- Grandma Marion’s Christmas Pudding: Our traditional Prairie Christmas pudding, served with warm brown sugar sauce and vanilla ice cream.
- Salted Caramel Gingerbread in a Mug: Delicious gingerbread cake with salted caramel baked up in individual mugs to share!
There you have it! An easy-to-make and impressive Christmas classic dessert!
Give it a try and let me know how it turns out in the comments below. You know that I always love hearing about your baking adventures and would love to hear if you tried any other variations!
Happy Baking!
Karlynn
English Christmas Trifle
Ingredients
- 3 cups Birds Custard, (prepared)
- 1 prepared white cake, (baked in a 9×13 pan)
- 1/3 cup amaretto
- 1 pears canned, (drained and diced)
- 4 cups fresh raspberries
- 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds, (for garnish)
- fresh raspberries and mint leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the Birds Custard as per the directions and set aside.
- Prepare the white cake mix in a 9×13 baking pan as per the directions on the box.
- In a medium bowl, beat 2 cups heavy cream with the confectioner's sugar until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl toss the diced pears and raspberries with 2 tablespoons Amaretto, stirring to bruise the berries slightly.
- 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 Amaretto.
- Layer 1/3 of the pears and raspberries over the top of the cake, followed by 1/3 of the 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 on top.
- Garnish with raspberries, slivered almonds and mint leaves.
- Refrigerate covered until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Pete Xander says
Okay, I stiffed you a star. My mom made trifles for decades before it was even heard of, much less commonplace as it is now. In making one’s own custard, though, you left out a vital insurance factor — yes, don’t overcook the custard, but what is the temperature at which the eggs will curdle? THIS fact comes from making a custard homemade ice cream recipe, but holds true to all egg-thickened custard: The temperature should be kept under 180 degrees F. Know that if it does exceed that, the temperature will continue to rise 4-5 degrees after it’s taken off the heat before it breaks and curdles.
Use a candy thermometer? NO! The range of temperatures on a candy thermometer is too difficult to read. I long have used a better one — a MEAT thermometer. For lower temperature cooking where a few degrees makes the difference, a meat thermometer is far more accurate, and EVERYONE has a meat thermometer.
And since I live at 6,000 in the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California — and a biologist with a broad science background — I know that water boils at 212 degrees at sea level. For every 500 feet of elevation, you have to know the boiling point will be 1 degree lower. So at 6,000 feet, the boiling point will happen at 200 degrees, or 2 degrees F for every 1,000 feet in elevation gain.
There — science lesson over. Time to get cookin’!
Mr. Kitchen Magpie says
Wow! Thanks for that, quite helpful. I appreciate you taking the time to share!!