Description

Holiday Berry Trifle is a festive, layered dessert combining homemade sponge cake, tart cranberry jelly with fresh strawberries, smooth white chocolate custard, and a light mascarpone cream topped with fresh berries and mint. This elegant trifle perfectly balances sweetness and tang with varied textures, making it an ideal treat for holiday celebrations.

Ingredients

Scale

Sponge Cake

3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Jelly

3 cups regular cranberry juice
1 1/2 tbsp unflavored gelatin
1 cup strawberries, halved
1/4 cup granulated sugar (optional, depending on juice tartness)

White Chocolate Custard

2 cups full fat milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup corn starch
2 oz white chocolate, chopped

Mascarpone Cream

1 cup mascarpone cheese
2 tbsp orange liquor (optional)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Extras

2 punnets strawberries
1 punnet raspberries
1 punnet blueberries
Fresh mint

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Instructions

Prepare Sponge Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9” cake pan with parchment paper. Beat eggs on high speed for 1 minute, gradually adding sugar and continue beating for about 10 minutes until thick and fluffy. Whisk flour and baking powder, sift into egg mixture and fold with spatula until combined without overmixing. Pour batter into pan, bake 23-25 minutes until golden brown. Cool on wire rack and store airtight once completely cooled.
Make Jelly: Hull and halve strawberries. Heat half the cranberry juice just to simmer, stir in sugar if using, then set aside. Sprinkle gelatin over remaining cold juice, let sit 2 minutes. Combine warm and cold juice, stir well. Pour into trifle bowl, refrigerate 2-3 hours until semi-firm. Arrange strawberries around sides and center of jelly, refrigerate 3+ hours until firm or overnight.
Prepare White Chocolate Custard: In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks, 1/3 cup milk, sugar, and corn starch. Heat remaining milk until simmering. Gradually whisk hot milk into yolk mixture, return to pan and cook over medium heat, stirring until thickened (about 5-7 minutes). Strain custard, stir in white chocolate until melted. Cover surface with plastic wrap and chill 4 hours or overnight.
Make Mascarpone Cream: Just before assembly, fold mascarpone cheese with orange liquor until combined. Whip heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla extract to soft peaks. Fold half the whipped cream into mascarpone to lighten, then fold in remaining cream until smooth.
Assemble Trifle: Pour chilled white chocolate custard over jelly layer. Crumble sponge cake on top of custard, sprinkle with mixed berries. Spread mascarpone cream over the berries. Decorate with additional berries, fresh mint leaves, and dust with powdered sugar. Chill before serving for best results.

Notes

This recipe was inspired by Home Beautiful’s holiday trifle recipe.
Adjust sugar in the jelly depending on the tartness of cranberry juice.
For best texture, avoid overmixing the sponge batter to keep it light and fluffy.
Covering the custard with plastic wrap prevents a skin from forming.
Chilling the trifle overnight helps flavors to meld and layers to set perfectly.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 slice (about 1/10th of recipe)
Calories: 350 kcal
Sugar: 30 g
Sodium: 85 mg
Fat: 18 g
Saturated Fat: 10 g
Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 38 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 6 g
Cholesterol: 110 mg