I don’t think the TikTok generation has discovered trifles, but they should.
The classic, yet decidedly uncool, dessert has faded from popular attention, but the trifle is perfectly primed for a generation obsessed with aesthetics. Cubes of cake layered with swirls of pudding and sweetened berries, clouds of whipped cream, and fanciful little garnishes—all piled into a towering glass bowl. The presentation is the dessert.
Now here I have to be honest: the traditional presentation is exactly why this millennial had never bothered making a trifle before now. Careful layers of pudding, pound cake, and precisely placed fruit all seemed a little old-school. And speaking of old-school, plenty of trifle recipes from a certain era call for pudding from a box and “whipped topping” from a plastic tub in the freezer section. Tasty enough I’m sure, but why waste my time on a trifle when so many other treats could be made? It took an early spring strawberry to change my mind.
Few foods in this world deliver as much ROI as strawberries. Sweet and juicy and bright all at once, strawberries sing as they burst on the scene.
When I found myself with a glut of the season’s first strawberries, a trifle came to mind—for kicks. As it turns out, a trifle is a great party trick.
The dessert looks impressive when guests arrive and only improves over time as it sits. It feeds a good many people, and if you put just a bit more time and effort into the components, the end result is truly delicious. I directed that effort into the pudding, the whipped cream, and the strawberries, where I took a two-note approach: roasting half to concentrate their sweetness and leaving the others fresh with a bit of lemon juice for contrast.
As far as assembly, well, I lived my truth and piled all that goodness in willy nilly.
As they say—it’s a vibe
Photography by Jivan Davé
Double Strawberry Trifle
The combination of roasted and fresh strawberries turns the trifle into a spring showstopper.
Ingredients:
- For the pudding
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
For the strawberries
- 3 lbs. strawberries (washed)
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
For the whipped cream
- 2 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- At least 4 hours before you plan to serve the trifle, make the pudding. Whisk together sugar cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan, breaking up any clumps. Add the eggs and egg yolk and whisk until completely smooth. Whisk in the milk and cream.
- Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly with a spatula to avoid lumps, until the mixture thickens and bubbles around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour the pudding into a shallow dish, press a layer of plastic wrap directly against the surface of the pudding, and refrigerate for a least 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove the leafy tops from all strawberries. Leave small or medium berries whole, but halve the biggest ones. Leaving 1 pound aside, transfer 2 pounds of the prepared strawberries to a 2-quart glass baking dish for roasting. Toss with 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp. kosher salt, 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract, and 1 Tbs. lemon juice. Roast, stirring once or twice along the way, until the berries are tender, slumped, and swimming in ruby-red juice, about 30-40 minutes.
- Let the berries and syrup cool and then use to build the trifle, or transfer to a container and refrigerate until ready. (If you refrigerate the roasted berries, you may need to briefly warm them in the microwave to return the syrup to a liquid consistency that can be drizzled over the trifle.)
- Meanwhile, toss the remaining 1 pound of prepared strawberries with 1/4 cup sugar, 1 Tbs. lemon juice, and 1/4 tsp. kosher salt. Allow berries to stand and macerate in their own juices.
- Place 2 1/2 cups whipping cream, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or use an electric hand mixer with a large bowl. Beat until soft peaks form and use immediately or refrigerate.
- When ready to assemble the trifle, begin by dividing the whipped cream into three portions. Gently fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the prepared vanilla custard.
- Reserve 1/3 of the whipped cream for garnish, and use the last third to assemble the trifle. In a 4-quart trifle dish or glass bowl, build the trifle in layers: 1/3 of the cake cubes, 1/3 of the vanilla pudding, 1/3 of the roasted strawberries, 1/3 of the whipped cream, and 1/3 fresh strawberries. Repeat twice. Top the trifle with generous swirls of the remaining whipped cream and garnish with fresh lemon zest and chopped pistachios. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. Trifle can be kept loosely covered in the refrigerator for three days.
