This recipe for easy Irish trifle is the perfect St. Patrick’s Day dessert, or for any time you want a pretty, fruit and pudding filled treat.
Well, I have completely thrown a monkey wrench into our family’s most beloved holiday of the year, known to us just as The Day, because as I may have mentioned, the day before The Day my baby girl is getting married.
And on the actual Day, we are having a lovely day after the wedding open house which is not going to feature corned beef or colcannon or trifle, since we are expecting zillions of friends and relatives and that didn’t seem practical. So we are working out how to celebrate The Day on a day that is after The Day. None of which means that YOU can’t whip up a bowl of my mama’s delectable trifle.
If you’ve never had trifle before, it is a conglomeration of soft cake and jam and pudding and whipped cream and fruit. It’s a very flexible little dessert that requires zero baking, and if you want to customize it with your own favorite fruit flavors, then go for it! We like it with raspberries or strawberries, but you could use peach or blueberries – we Irish are nothing if not flexible.
This recipe for easy Irish trifle is the perfect St. Patrick's Day dessert, or for any time you want a pretty, fruit and pudding filled treat.Traditional trifle calls for ladyfinger cookies, which are a a sponge cookie that you can usually find right in your supermarket. If you can’t find them, just cut up pound cake or sponge cake into about 1 inch by 3 inch slices and you are all set. See? Flexible!
Now, cut the cookies in half and spread the insides with jam so you have a cookie and jam sandwich, and line a pretty bowl (we use a cut glass one so you can see all the deliciousness) with the sandwiches. We go all along the bottom and almost all the way up the sides. Don’t worry if some of the jam smooshes out.
Next, take a bowl of Jello that you have cleverly made ahead of time and whip it into foam. Spread it over the jam sandwiches. Then take a bowl of vanilla pudding that you have cleverly made ahead of time and spread it over the Jello foam.
As a finishing touch, spread the whole thing with whipped cream and garnish it with whatever fruit flavor you have picked. My mama also sprinkles it with colored sugar, which is not required but is oh so pretty.
Now all you need to do is scoop it out, making sure everyone gets their fair share of all the ingredients, and dig in! As for me, I promise to make next St. Patrick’s Day waaaaayyyy less complicated. And speaking of, for obvious reasons, unless I get a serious second wind, I probably won’t be putting up a new post for a week or so. But when I do, it will include non-food related PICTURES.
Love, the Mama of the Bride, who is completely calm in every way. THREE DAYS.
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Easy Irish Trifle
Prep Time: 45 minutes- Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x
Category: Dessert
Method: No Bake
Cuisine: Irish
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Pin RecipeDescription
This recipe for easy Irish trifle is the perfect St. Patrick’s Day dessert, or for any time you want a pretty, fruit and pudding filled treat.
Ingredients
- One package ladyfinger cookies (see note)
- 1 cup raspberry or strawberry jam
- 1/4 cup sherry
- 1 package of raspberry or strawberry gelatin, prepared according to package directions and fully set
- 1 package vanilla pudding, prepared according to package directions
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
- Fresh raspberries or strawberries for garnish
- Coarse pink sugar for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the ladyfingers in half length-wise (or use two small slices of cake in place of each ladyfinger). Spread generously with jam and put together like a sandwich. Line a serving bowl with the sandwiches, all along the bottom and up the sides. Sprinkle with the sherry.
- Using an electric mixer, whip the set Jello into a foam. Spread the foam over the sandwiches. Spread the prepared pudding over the foam.
- Put the cream and confectioner’s sugar into a mixing bowl and beat with a mixer until soft peaks form. Spread over pudding.
- Garnish with fruit and colored sugar and serve!
Notes
If you can’t find ladyfingers, then thin slices of pound cake or sponge cake will work. Cut them about 3 inches tall, 1 inch wide and 1/2 inch thick.
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Hi there! I’m Kate, and I’m a recipe writer, food photographer and devoted bacon lover. I started Framed Cooks in 2009, and my mission is to create and share family-friendly recipes that make cooking both easy and fun…yes, I said FUN! My kitchen is my happy place, and I want yours to be that place too. Let’s cook together!
Getting ready for my annual Irish Supper Club which will be on March 23rd this year. Serving Guinness Beef Stew and Ocean Fish Pie. If I get ambitious, there’ll be scones and brown bread. Dessert is Blackberry Cobbler. I do like Trifle but just made Tiramisu last month which is kind of a cousin.
My mom and I were just talking about how tiramisu and trifle are cousins! Sounds like your Supper Club will be scrumptious!
Enjoy the wedding!
Oh, we DID! :) xoxo
Kate, a happy, holy marriage as the product of two families and the foundation for a new one truly makes the world a better place. I said a prayer for the bride and groom and their life together as I’m making your mom’s Irish brown bread for my O’Connell clan’s gathering on The Day. Slainte!
Beth, this means the world to me – thank you! :)
Sounds yummy! Quick question… where does the sherry go?
Thanks!
Whoops! Mother of the bride confusion while I was typing – you sprinkle it on the cookie sandwiches after they go in the bowl. Recipe updated and thank you! ?
I just want to say thank you for such a wonderful blog. I’ve made MANY of your recipes and each one has been excellent! I also enjoy reading about your family. Your website has been an escape lately. My 27 year old son passed away unexpectedly 3 weeks ago. To get my mind in a good place, your blog is one of the things I’ve turned to. Thank you.
Oh Wendy! My heart is breaking for you – I am so very, very sorry! I have you and your son in my prayers, and thank you for taking the time to let me know that you are finding a bit of peace here. Sending so much comfort and strength your way. xoxo
Kate’s Mother here…..My brother was taken from us suddenly when he was 21. You have my company in your sorrow. The blessing is that I hold my Tom in my heart as a wonderful young man and can imagine the good things he would have accomplished. You will do the same….. Bless you and your family.
Thank you. It’s somehow comforting to reach out in this blog and get a response. Please keep up with your food blog and family stories. Also, thank you Kate’s mom! Xoxoox
Oh Wendy, you reach out whenever you need to. You’re in my prayers – xoxo back!