Trifle is a dessert that originated in England . It is made with layers of fruit, sponge cake, whipped cream, custard, and sometimes jelly. The cake is usually soaked in brandy or sherry, giving trifle its alternative name: tipsy cakes .

Where did trifle dessert get its name?

The word trifle comes from the old French term ' trufe ' which means of little consequence . Sounds like whoever named trifle knew how easy it was to make!

Where is trifle from?

Trifle dessert is from England.

What does trifle taste like?

The taste of trifle will depend on which layers you use. It usually will taste similar to a fruit layer cake—but feel much lighter because it has much higher ratios of fruits and of cream or custard.

Does trifle have custard?

Usually, yes. English trifle has a layer of custard.

Most trifle is not vegan due to the sponge layer (often made with dairy & eggs), as well as the cream and custard layers (dairy and sometimes eggs). It is very easy to make trifle vegan, though. Especially if you're planning on serving it at a party in this day and age where food intolerances or special diets run rampant, your guests may be very thankful to have a plant-based option!

Is trifle gluten-free?

Most likely, no. Trifle often has a layer of angel food or another type of cake, which 99% of the time is not gluten-free. Swap the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free version to make trifle GF-friendly.

Vegan Trifle Cups with Vanilla Cake and Coconut Cream

Name: Vegan Trifle Cups
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Cuisine: English
Ingredients: 4 cups of batter vanilla cake, cut into 1/2" cubes (See Notes); 1 1/2 cups strawberries, sliced; 1 cup strawberries, whole; 1 1/2 cups blueberries, sliced; 1 cup blueberries, whole; 1 1/2 cups whipped coconut cream (homemade or store-bought); optional: 1 1/2 cups custard (See Notes); optional: 1/2 cup brandy or sherry; 360 grams (~ 1 1/2 cups; 1 standard can) coconut cream, chilled; 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (or sweetener of choice); optional: pinch of cream of tartar (for longer holding power)

Description

Vegan trifle cups are perfect for the USA's Independence Day, but you really don’t need to be celebrating anything to enjoy one! It’s made with the best vegan vanilla cake ever, but you can also use a box mix or even Graham crackers in a pinch.

Ingredients

Scale

4 cups of batter vanilla cake, cut into 1/2" cubes (See Notes)
1 1/2 cups strawberries, sliced
1 cup strawberries, whole
1 1/2 cups blueberries, sliced
1 cup blueberries, whole
1 1/2 cups whipped coconut cream (homemade or store-bought)
optional: 1 1/2 cups custard (See Notes)
optional: 1/2 cup brandy or sherry

For Whipped Coconut Cream:

360 grams (~ 1 1/2 cups; 1 standard can) coconut cream, chilled
2 tablespoons powdered sugar (or sweetener of choice)
optional: pinch of cream of tartar (for longer holding power)

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Instructions

Coconut Whipped Cream:

Place the chilled coconut cream into a medium-sized bowl. Add the powdered sugar (or another sweetener of choice) and the optional cream of tartar, and whip with an electric mixer/whisker.
It will likely look grainy at first, but just keep whisking! After about 2 minutes of whisking the coconut cream should be smooth and fluffy. Doing this by hand is possible, but took me over 10 minutes vigorously whisking with a balloon whisk.
Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. It can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Optional: Soaking Cakes in Liquor

Meanwhile, if using liquor, place all the cubed pieces of cake into a large bowl and pour over the liquor. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours so that the cake soaks up the liquid.

Assembly

Start by layering the pieces of cake, then pipe (or simply spoon) the coconut cream on, place the berries, and repeat. Finish with whole pieces of fruit to decorate. If adding custard as well, do it before the coconut cream layer.
You can also use shorter cups and place only one layer of each ingredient.

Saving

Trifle doesn't hold up too well once assembled—store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours if you must. Longer than that and the fruits' colors will bleed into the cream layers. The best way of storing trifle for longer is to refrigerate or freeze each layer individually and to assemble them right before serving.

Notes

Cake — You can use a square (8" or 9") pan, an 8" round pan, or even cupcake tins to bake 4 cups of cake batter. I'd suggest a wider square tin (9") to get minimal doming and neat cubes, but a cupcake tin is the fastest option. A regular box mix cake also yields about 4 cups of batter, so feel free to go that route as well! In a pinch, even crushed-up Graham crackers will work.

Coconut Cream — Use a brand that has guar gum added for smoothest results. Full fat coconut milk (canned, not ones sold in cartons) will work too, but you may need to use about 1.25x more of it for similar results. Refrigerate the coconut cream (or milk) overnight, placing the can upside down, to be able to scoop out the cream without any additional water.

Custard — Classic English trifle has a layer of custard, so you can add it to the recipe as well! This burned pudding recipe has a great custard layer. You can make 1/4 of that recipe, leaving out the mastic gum.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Category: Dessert
Method: Bake
Cuisine: English