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This Lemon Berry Trifle is perfectly tart and sweet, with a citrusy lemon cake, vanilla pudding, whipped cream and a load of berries! It’s the perfect dessert for Spring.
Happy Spring! It’s Ashley here from The Recipe Rebel and I’m bringing you one of my favorite combinations ever: lemon and berries. Are you all lemon lovers??
When I was young, I despised lemon. It was sour, and tangy, and definitely not rich and chocolatey like dessert should be. It hardly even counts as dessert.
But for some reason, the adults all loved it and insisted on baking all kinds of lemon goodies (now I’m wondering if this was done purposefully to keep us kids out of the dessert!).
As I got older, interestingly enough, my tastes changed. I now can’t handle the sickly sweet stuff I used to love, and instead I prefer fruit desserts, especially lemon. Luckily, my kids love lemon just as much as I do and there are no groans or grimaces when some bright, lemon dessert or baked goods appear on the table.
You can use whatever berries you have for this recipe: I used blueberries, blackberries and raspberries but you can throw in fresh strawberries if you have some! You can even add in other fruit if you like, or use a white chocolate or cheesecake pudding mix to make things even more interesting. There are so many ways you can make this your own!
If you don’t have a trifle bowl, a nice large glass bowl will do — you really want to show off those layers! And if you have to use a smaller bowl and have leftover cake, simply throw it in the freezer for another day (for when those lemon cravings hit!). It freezes perfectly and is just as good later on.
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Lemon Berry Trifle
Ingredients
!Cake
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- zest of 2 lemons
!To Assemble
- 1 4 serving size package instant vanilla pudding
- 2 cups milk
- 3 cups fresh berries
- 1 1/2 cups sweetened whipped cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 8x8" or 9x9" square pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Add eggs, vanilla, applesauce, yogurt and lemon juice and whisk until smooth. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and zest and stir until combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Check cake at 25-30 minutes -- if browning too quickly cover loosely with a piece of foil for the remainder of the baking time. Let cake cool completely.
- To make the trifle: Cut the cake into cubes. Place half of the cake cubes in the bottom of a trifle dish or glass bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together vanilla pudding mix and milk until smooth. Pour half over the cake in the dish. Top with half of the berries.
- Repeat layers one more time, using remaining cake, pudding and berries. Top with whipped cream. Refrigerate until chilled and set, at least 1-2 hours and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made your lemon berry trifle. Mine did not turn out exactly like yours. I whisked together the pudding mix and milk, poured it over like you said. Since it was still liquid it just all went to the bottom of the dish. I’m assuming you let yours gel before you put your trifle together to get it to look like it did in the pictures. Also, I put my whipping cream on and the put it in the fridge for 2 hours to set, but by the time I had pulled it out the whipping cream had all settled into the top of the trifle. The cake was very delicious though.
I think this looks like a wonderful dessert. But I wouln’t even consider making it. There’s no nutritional information.
The lemon berry trifle is SO delicious! Yes, you are right, I don’t have any nutritional information on my recipes. I recommend using myfitnesspal.com or an app that you prefer, to look up the information that you are seeking. Hope that helps!
Your Recipe Critic,
Alyssa
Alyssa, this is Barry Meyer. I thank you for your response to my comments regarding nutritional facts on your Lemon Berry Trifle. Because you answered my question, I have since made this recipe with just a couple of substitutions to lower the calories. I want to inform you that you’re wrong about this dessert. It’s not SO delicious, it’s absolutely fantastic!!!! If you need a reference, feel free to use my name. Sincerely, Barry Meyer Fountain Hills,AZ
WOW!! You had me nervous there for a minute when I was reading but SO SO happy it was FANTASTIC for you all!! That is awesome!! Thanks for your substitutions and for sharing!! I really appreciate it!