I’m going to toot my own horn and say that I’m low-key famous for trifles. I’ve convinced so many people to make from-scratch trifles that it’s become a yearly holiday tradition for many of you! You’ll love this lemon buttermilk-infused version. I’m certain of it.
This lemon berry trifle is a twist on my original recipe with lemon sponge cake, tangy buttermilk lemon custard, and a mix of berries in a syrup that drips its way down through the layers. It’s heaven in a cup, I’m telling you.
Plus they’re in individual cups for a beautiful presentation and can be made a day or two ahead of time!
I made the custard from my trifle recipe, using buttermilk and lemon juice instead of regular milk. (Hello, tang.) Then I combined the rest of the frozen raspberries with some frozen blueberries and layered it with the custard and the leftover cake... with a dollop of freshly whipped cream on top. The cake recipe I used for the cupcakes was more time consuming and dirtied more dishes than the sponge cake from my trifle recipe, so I made a few tweaks to the sponge cake and added it to the recipe below.
The sweet, gooey berries were a perfect pairing with the tangy custard and the fluffy, slightly-lemony cake. I could dive into a big bowl of this and never come out.
I found these cute little trifle dishes at Walmart. They were only $3-4 a piece (I think). You can also use stemless wine glasses (like the ones below), 8-ounce ramekins or small bowls. If you need something disposable for an event, here are some great little plastic parfait cups! Clear bowls make for a prettier presentation when it comes to trifles, but honestly... you kind of forget how pretty it is once you take a few bites.
If you make one of my recipes, be sure to post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!
Lemon-Berry Mini Trifles
The only thing better than a full-sized trifle is a few mini trifles in cute little dishes! These desserts are perfect for Valentine's Day, too!
Ingredients
Lemon Custard:
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cup buttermilk
- 3 large lemons
- 4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Sponge Cake:
- 1 egg
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 1 T butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
For the trifles:
- 2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed
- 2 cups frozen blueberries, thawed
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 ¼ cup heavy cream, whipped and sweetened to taste (or 2-2 ½ cups of whipped cream)
Instructions
- For the custard: Remove the zest from both lemons and set aside. Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, buttermilk, and juice from both lemons (about ½ cup) in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly.
- Stir about ¼ of mixture into egg yolks; add egg yolk mixture back into saucepan, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 2 min.
- Remove from heat; add butter and vanilla, stirring until butter melts. Cover with plastic wrap, gently pressing it onto surface; chill at least 2 hours.
- For the sponge cake: Beat egg at high speed with electric mixer (or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment) 3 min or until thick and pale. Gradually add sugar and lemon zest; beat 4 min.
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually fold into batter.
- Combine milk and butter in saucepan; cook over low heat until butter melts (or zap in the microwave). Gradually stir milk mixture and vanilla into batter.
- Pour into a greased and floured 8” round cake pan. Bake at 350 for 16 min or until toothpick comes clean. Cool on wire rack for 10 min. Remove from pan; cool completely on rack. Cut into 1 in. cubes.
- When you're ready to assemble the trifles, mix the thawed berries and sugar in a bowl. Set aside. Whip the cream with an electric mixer, adding your preferred sweetener, to taste, during the whipping. (I added about 1 T of sugar.) Fold a couple of heaping spoonfuls of the cream into the custard. Set aside the rest for the topping.
- In trifle cups or a small serving bowl, layer custard, cake cubes, and berry mixture. Repeat layers until you run out of ingredients. If you're using small cups, you may only be able to layer twice. Top with remaining custard. Cover and chill. Top with whipped cream when you're ready to serve.
Notes
- I used 4 stemless wine glasses and was able to layer everything twice to fill them halfway before adding whipped cream to the top.
- This recipe is easily doubled if you want to make a full size one in a standard sized trifle dish.
- I used King Arthur 1:1 gluten free flour and it worked beautifully in the sponge cake.
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