Little English Sherry Trifles for Dessert

These Mini English Sherry Trifles are perfect for prepping ahead and showing off. Layers of berries and pound cake soaked in a sherry-orange mixture are topped with creamy custard and whipped cream. You can make all parts in advance and assemble just before serving for a beautiful dessert with minimal stress.

Growing up in an English family in California means lots of food items my friends are confused by.

• Beans on toast?! What the heck- but for me the best comfort food.
• Chip Butty! LITERALLY HEAVEN Chips "french fries" stuffed in a buttered piece of bread
• Any kind of pudding that isn't actually what Americans think of pudding! Yorkshire pudding, sticky toffee pudding, black pudding, bread and butter pudding...

This list goes on. One of my favorite English "Puds" is English Sherry Trifle. This trifle recipe is easy. You can most definitely make your own pound cake and your custard from scratch- but being English Birds Custard Powder is the only way to go! But for me, a few cheats are the beauty of this recipe. Another beauty? You can make this trifle 2 days in advance. Hello, time saver. Is anyone else always running behind when you are hosting an event? The time just ticks away.

Meet the Stars: Berries, Sherry & Custard

• Mixed Berries (fresh or frozen) These add juiciness, color, and freshness. Using frozen can work, especially if you'll serve the trifles chilled.
• Pound Cake (store-bought or homemade) Provides the sturdy layer that holds up under a soak without turning soggy.
• Sherry Mixture (Orange Juice + Sherry) A drizzle of this over the cake adds flavor and moistens the pound cake. Don't over-soak or it loses texture.
• Custard (custard powder, sugar, milk) Gives creamy richness. Cooling and placing plastic wrap directly on the surface helps prevent a skin from forming. Try my homemade English Custard.
• Whipped Cream (heavy cream + powdered sugar + stabilizer optional) Light and airy topping to balance the richer custard and fruit layers. Stabilizer helps if you need the trifle to hold up

Layer, Chill & Serve with Joy

Start off with 8oz plastic clear cups or stemless wine glasses. Slice your pound cake into 10 even slices, then using a 2.5 inch round cutter prepare your pound cake rounds set on a plate and set aside.

In a squeezy bottle or a bowl with pastry brush add 2oz Sherry and 5oz Orange Juice. Mix together.

In a large bowl prepare your berries. You can use fresh berries or frozen berries. Of course, if you plan to serve the trifles right away I would use fresh so the berries aren't frozen. Raspberries, Strawberries, Blackberries, and Blueberries are my favorite berries to use for this recipe. Often sliced bananas are in English trifle but we prefer just berries. Add bananas if you want!

In a clear cup add about 2oz of berries, a little more is totally fine. Then add your pound cake slice. And squirt or brush on the sherry mixture. Do not over soak it but cover the pound cake with the liquid.

Then pile on 2oz ish of custard. You can either make your custard ahead of time and chill it, or you could pour the warm custard on top of the cold berries and pound cake- provided you are not serving it right away.

At this point, you can cover the individual trifles and keep in the fridge until ready to serve. Or make your whipped cream to pipe on top of the trifles, if you used cold custard. Warm custard would melt the whipped cream.

You can definitely spoon and swirl your whipped cream on top I find it faster and prettier to just use a star tip and pipe the whipped cream on. If you are going to pipe the whipped cream ahead of time as in a few hours, not a few days- then make sure you use a whipped cream stabilizer.

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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Mini English Sherry Trifles

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These Mini English Sherry Trifles are perfect for prepping ahead and showing off. Layers of berries and pound cake soaked in a sherry-orange mixture are topped with creamy custard and whipped cream. You can make all parts in advance and assemble just before serving for a beautiful dessert with minimal stress. 

• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 10 Individual Trifles 1x

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 20oz Mixed Berries (Raspberries, Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries-fresh or frozen)
• 1 small (9X5 loaf size) Pound Cake homemade or store-bought

Sherry Mixture

• 5oz OJ
• 2oz Sherry

Custard

• 2 Tablespoons of Birds Custard Powder
• 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
• 20oz Whole or 2% Milk

Whipped Cream

• 16oz (2 Cups) Heavy Whipping Cream
• 30 (¼ Cup) Grams Powdered Sugar

Toppings (Optional)

• Maraschino cherries
• Grated chocolate
• Sprinkles
• Raspberry sauce

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Instructions

1. I like to line my clear plastic cups or stemless wine glasses, or any glass small bowl on a baking sheet to keep them easily together and movable in and out of the fridge.
2. In a large bowl combine the berries you are going to use for your trifles, set aside. You can use fresh berries or frozen berries. *
3. Slice your pound cake into 10 even slices, then using a 2.5 inch round cutter prepare your pound cake rounds set on a plate and set aside. (If you are going to double, triple, quadruple (yes I've done it) this recipe then I line a baking sheet with parchment and layer the pound cake rounds in one layer then parchment paper and another layer of cake.)

Sherry Mixture

1. In a squeezy bottle or a bowl with pastry brush add 2oz Sherry and 5oz Orange Juice. Mix together.

Custard

1. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan add your milk and cook over medium heat until nearly boiling.
2. While the milk is cooking prepare your custard powder. In a large bowl add the custard powder, sugar and two-three tablespoons of the milk that is already cooking- the milk should still be quite cool. Whisk together to make a paste.
3. When the milk is nearly boiled, pour it into the custard paste whisking constantly. Add it all back to the pot and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil. Pour into a container and let cool, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard to prevent a thick skin from forming. You can use the custard when it has slightly cooled or store it in the fridge for up to two days before using.

Whipped Cream

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk attachment add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and whipped cream stabilizer, if using. Whisk on medium to low speed until hard peaks form, a few minutes. You can either pipe or swirl the whipped cream on top of the cooled custard.

Assembly

1. In a clear cup add about 2oz of berries, a little more is totally fine. Then add your pound cake slice. And squirt or brush on the sherry mixture. Do not over soak it but cover the pound cake with the liquid.
2. Then pile on 2oz of custard. You can either make your custard ahead of time and chill it, or you could pour the warm custard on top of the cold berries and pound cake- provided you are not serving it right away.
3. At this point, you can cover the individual trifles and keep in fridge until ready to serve. Or make your whipped cream to pipe on top of the trifles, if you used cold custard. Warm custard would melt the whipped cream. You can definitely spoon and swirl your whipped cream on top I find it faster and prettier to just use a star tip and pipe the whipped cream on. If you are going to pipe the whipped cream ahead of time as in a few hours, not a few days- then make sure you use a whipped cream stabilizer. Top with optional toppings. 
4. To store them in the fridge I keep the trifles on a baking tray add some toothpicks that stick up high and drape plastic wrap over the trifles- the toothpicks hold the plastic wrap up. You can garnish with some sprinkles, more fruit or a cherry.

Equipment

OXO Kitchen Scale

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Notes

• *If you plan to serve the trifles right away I would use fresh so the berries aren't frozen. Raspberries, Strawberries, Blackberries, and Blueberries are my favorite berries to use for this recipe.
• Non- alcoholic version. Leave out the sherry and just do an orange juice drizzle on the pound cake.

• Author: Elizabeth Waterson
• Prep Time: 30 Minutes
• Cook Time: 10 Minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Cooking
• Cuisine: English

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