Easy Sherry Trifle (No Jelly)

A classic sherry trifle recipe that has been in my family for generations – this Easy Sherry Trifle features homemade sponge cake soaked in sweet sherry, and topped with fresh raspberries, Bird’s custard, whipped cream and flaked almonds – but definitely no jelly! A true British classic that has stood the test of time. (Serves 8-12 depending on appetite.)

Course Christmas, Dessert, Pudding

Cuisine British

Prep Time 30

Total Time 30

Servings people

Calories 397kcal

Author Eb Gargano

Ingredients

500 g plain sponge cake (Homemade or shop-bought – See Note 1)
150 ml sweet ‘cream’ sherry (See Note 2)
500 g fresh raspberries (See Note 3)
600 ml thick custard (See Note 4)
600 ml double cream (See Note 5)
Toasted flaked almonds for decoration (See Note 6)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

If using homemade sponge cake, first make the sponge cake and allow to fully cool. (Approx. 1h after you remove it from the tin.)
Cut the sponge cake into squares and line the base of a large glass bowl / trifle bowl (e.g. THIS ONE)
Pick out 100g of the most attractive raspberries and save in the fridge for decoration. Put the remaining 400g raspberries on top of the sponge cake in an even layer. (See Note 3.)
Pour the sweet sherry evenly over the sponge cake / raspberries layer, and set aside to soak in while you make up the custard.
Make 600ml thick custard (See Note 4 for full instructions using Bird’s Original Custard Powder), allow to cool for 5 minutes then pour the custard over the evenly over the sponge cake / raspberries layer.
Place the trifle in the fridge for at least 3 hours – but ideally overnight. (See Note 7.)
Whip the double cream, using an electric hand whisk, to the ‘soft peaks’ stage. (See Note 8.) Gently spoon the cream over the custard layer in big dollops.
Decorate the trifle using flaked almonds and the reserved raspberries. Refrigerate until needed.

Notes

For the best flavour, I recommend making homemade plain sponge cake – it will taste much better than shop-bought, and only requires 15 minutes hands on time. However, if you’d prefer not to, feel free to use shop bought plain sponge cake!
You can use any sweet sherry you like, but for that classic British trifle taste, it has to be cream sherry - I recommend Harvey’s Bristol Cream. Do not use any of the drier styles of sherry as they won’t work at all!
You can use frozen raspberries if you like – or even tinned raspberries, like my Grandma did! But fresh raspberries will definitely give you the best flavour. If you want the raspberries to ‘soak’ into the sponge cake layer, I recommend crushing half the raspberries lightly with a fork before placing on top of the sponge cake.
I strongly recommend using Bird's Original Custard Powder, using the following quantities: 55g custard powder, 35g caster sugar, 600ml semi-skimmed milk. Place the custard powder, sugar, and 3 tablespoons of the cold milk into a saucepan. Stir together to form a paste. Slowly pour in the remaining milk, while stirring constantly, until fully mixed together. Put the pan over a medium heat and keep stirring as the custard warms up and thickens. Keep heating until its really thick. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then pour the custard over the evenly over the sponge cake / raspberries layer.
You can also use whipping cream, if you prefer. Many recipes call for sugar and vanilla to be added to the cream before whisking. Personally, I prefer not to add sugar and vanilla – partly because the original recipe did not have sugar and vanilla added, but partly because I think the slight touch of ‘savoury-ness’ of the plain double cream really balances out the other sweeter flavours in this trifle beautifully. In my opinion adding sugar and vanilla to the whipped cream makes this whole dessert too sweet and ‘cloying’ – but if your tastes are different and you want to add sugar and vanilla to the cream – don’t let me stop you! 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 30g sugar should be about right (either icing sugar or caster sugar will work).
You can use any decorations you like here. Personally, I use flaked almonds and fresh raspberries, but you can use a crumbled up flake, grated dark chocolate, hundreds and thousands, glacé cherries, chopped almonds, other types of fresh fruit – whatever you like!
I strongly recommend making this trifle - up to the custard layer - the day before and leaving it overnight in the fridge – this is partly to allow the flavours to meld and mingle and partly to allow the custard to set properly – if you don’t allow the custard to set properly it won’t be able to support the cream layer, and the cream will ‘sink’.
For best results, take the cream layer to the ‘soft peak’ stage where you can easily spoon it over the custard layer – if you whip it too long, it will get too thick and be really hard to spread over the custard layer and it won’t look as attractive either.
This trifle takes 30 minutes to assemble. You will also need to allow time to make the cake (if making homemade cake) and at least 3 hours for the custard to set in the fridge.
Not suitable for freezing.
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition