This recipe for Classic Trifle is so easy – the messiest tastiest festive dessert.

You can definitely say I am obsessed with the humble trifle. I now have three of the beautiful desserts on my website but until now I had not shared the classic trifle recipe. They are such pretty and delicious desserts.

This simple dessert is traditionally a combination of sponge (usually with a generous splash of sherry!) custard, fruits and all topped with whipped cream. I of course have amended it a little but the basic layers remain the same.

These are some common questions I get asked about trifles so I thought I would cover them here before we get into the recipe.

Should I use Sherry or Orange Juice in Trifle?

The choice is yours, traditionally sponges were considered the boozy dessert or tipsy pudding. We serve ours with orange juice so the kids can enjoy it, but for adults feel free to add as much or as little sherry as you like. 1/2 Cup is a suggestion, for a drier cleaner dessert reduce this, or use an amount to your liking.

Can I leave off the cream?

Yes absolutely, you can simply add more custard to the top of the trifle and decorate that. The cream is best made as you are serving.

What can I use instead of jam sponge rolls?

Use store bought sponges and cut these in half. Spread one half of the sponge in strawberry jam and place the other half on top. Slice into fingers and use this in place of the sponge roll in the recipe.

What size Trifle bowl do you use?

I use a 3.5 litre trifle bowl. Feel free to amend the ingredients if yours is smaller or bigger.

Can I use other fruit?

Absolutely. Peaches and strawberries are lovely together, but you can use summer stone fruits only or all the berries. The choice is totally up to you.

Can I make trifle the day before?

Yes definitely, in fact I recommend it! The flavours then have time to infuse together and create the delicious messy dessert that is trifle.

The ingredients I have used today are (scroll down to the recipe card for the quantities & method)

Jam Rolls
Sherry (or Orange Juice)
Custard
Peaches
Jelly
Strawberries
Whipped Cream
Raspberries & Shaved Chocolate to finish

Everyone has their own methods for making trifles, traditionally they have been a tipsy dessert that is laden with sherry to soak the sponge. Some love a soggy trifle, others do not. If not using Sherry you can use orange juice in its place.

I can tell you one thing, a soggy sponge does not look great to photograph but tastes great, so make YOUR sponge for eating not photographing! I have not added extra liquid to mine like I normally do so the jam roll looks cute but definitely add it to yours if you like all the flavours.

The day before or at least 4-5 hours before you need to make the jelly. I do this in a large shallow baking dish so it sets quickly and I can slice it into squares to place around the fruit in the pudding.

I have used a premade Jam Sponge roll here today as I love the look of it, but you can use any sponge and cover with strawberry jam before adding to the trifle bowl.

Here is detailed information about how I assemble the trifle, Feel free to scroll down to the full method below. I like to have everything ready beside me, so the peaches drained and diced, the jelly sliced into squares and the strawberries hulled and sliced in half etc

I usually use store bought vanilla custard but you are welcome to make it homemade also.

I like to lay the sponge roll pieces around the side then base of the trifle bowl and lightly pour over some of the liquid you are using. Then to this I fill with almost half the custard. Then layer half the peaches, jelly and strawberries then a thin layer of more custard.

Add a layer of sponge roll on top of this and around the top of the trifle bowl, I trimmed mine down here to allow them to fit up the sides.

Then repeat again with custard, fruits and jelly pieces. If you are not serving immediately cover the bowl, refrigerate ideally overnight or for at least 4 hours for the flavours and textures to meld together.

When ready to serve whip cream and decorate with raspberries and shaved chocolate or a topping of your choice.

Also trifle is THE BEST breakfast food and I know many of you agree, trifle the day after the big event is a highlight of my year!

I have two other trifle recipes that are just as delicious for something different

Mascarpone Custard Trifle

Ambrosia Trifle

Maybe make all three and see which one is the best? I would happily judge your trifle-off.

Onto the recipe for this classic trifle, I hope you enjoy it.

Classic Trifle

Name: Classic Trifle
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 6 h 30 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: New Zealand
Ingredients: 1 1/2 Cups Cream; 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence; 1 Tablespoon Icing Sugar; Raspberries; Shaved Chocolate; 1 x Jelly, 85 gram Packet; 250 ml Boiling Water; 250 ml Cold Water; 2 Jam Rolls (or 500 grams Sponge); 1/2 Cup Sherry or Orange Juice*; 1kg Custard, pre made or homemade; 2 Cans Peaches, drained and diced; 500 grams Strawberries, hulled and halved

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 6 hours 30 minutes

Delicious Classic Trifle recipe, easy to make, a festive summer dessert.

Ingredients

1 x Jelly, 85 gram Packet
250 ml Boiling Water
250 ml Cold Water
2 Jam Rolls (or 500 grams Sponge)
1/2 Cup Sherry or Orange Juice*
1kg Custard, pre made or homemade
2 Cans Peaches, drained and diced
500 grams Strawberries, hulled and halved

To Serve

1 1/2 Cups Cream
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
1 Tablespoon Icing Sugar
Raspberries
Shaved Chocolate

Instructions

First prepare your jelly, you will need a shallow square or rectangular baking dish, approx 25x25cm
In a medium bowl add the jelly crystals and 1 cup of boiling water and whisk until no crystals remain
Then add a further 1 cup (250mls) cold water and whisk well.
Carefully pour this into the dish and refrigerate overnight or until set
To assemble the trifle have all the ingredients on hand and prepared (not including the cream)
(My trifle bowl is 3.5 litres, you may need to adjust quantities to fit your bowl)
Slice the jam rolls into 1 cm slices.
Place pieces of the jam roll around the inner edge of the trifle bowl and place three pieces in the bottom of the bowl.
Drizzle half of the sherry or juice over the jam sponge
Add to the centre of the sponge roll just under half of the custard, spreading with a spatula to create a smooth layer
Place on this half the diced peaches, jelly pieces and half the sliced strawberries, it is nice to see a little of the strawberries and custard above the jam rolls in this layer
Top this with a thin layer of custard
Then add the last layer of jam rolls around the inner side of the bowl, I have trimmed mine to fit into the bowl, and place 3 or so pieces in the middle of the bowl on top of the custard
Drizzle the remaining sherry or juice over the jam sponge slices.
Then top this with the remainder of the custard, peaches, jelly and strawberries.
Cover this with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight or until you are ready to serve. Allow the pudding to chill for at least 4 hours.
When ready to serve, combine the cream, vanilla essence and icing sugar in a bowl
Using a hand held beater or food mixer, bring the cream together until soft peaks form, then beat for just a few seconds longer until you get medium peaks that just stand up when you lift the beaters. Careful not to overbeat.
Then add this to the top of the trifle, smooth to cover and decorate with raspberries and shaved chocolate.
When not serving always store trifle in the refrigerator.
Trifle makes the BEST breakfast food so be sure to save a bit for the next day.
Enjoy!

Notes