Trifles have a very special place in my heart. They bring back such fond happy memories of spending Sundays with Grandma when my brother and I were young. Each week she would make us Sunday lunch, sometimes it would be a roast beef with amazing Yorkshire Puddings and other times it would be a simple salad. But regardless of the main meal she would always treat us to a fruit trifle for dessert.
Not that Grandma was a one recipe wonder, far from it. It was simply a case of making what was popular. Trifle, with its soft sponge, tasty fruit, wobbly jelly, vanilla custard and rich cream, is undoubtedly a family favourite of ours. And of course the squelch, as the spoon is lifted with the first portion from the trifle bowl, never failed to produce lots of hilarity and giggles!
In my mind trifles are great because they're so versatile. You can make an orange, strawberry or raspberry flavoured one, for instance, or even allow the seasons to lead your choice of fruit. They can be made boozy or suitable for the tee totaller. Extra fruit, sponge or custard can be added if that's your favourite trifle element, or even omit a layer (just like Grandma lovingly did for me by making me my own cream free trifle in a yogurt pot!)
Or why not remove the glass bowl from the equation and make a showstopper trifle like our Freestanding Raspberry & Glitter Trifle (just ensure your custard is nice and thick if you do!)
And of course you can make individual trifles just like these delicious Raspberry & White Chocolate Mini Trifles. Not only are they elegant and suitable for dinner parties (if you're after more easy dinner party dessert ideas check out this collection of amazing dinner party desserts), they're also perfect for portion control! I'm sure you've experienced the dilemma where a couple of portions of trifle are left over from the large family sized trifle which you just don't want to waste!
Similarly, individually sized trifles means that you and your other half can enjoy a delicious mini dessert to round off a romantic meal at home.
Raspberry and white chocolate is such a classic flavour combo which
works so well in these mini trifles. The creaminess of the white
chocolate creme patissiere (pastry custard) is tempered by the sharpness
of raspberries, seen peeking through the jelly. The jelly used is a
vegetarian shop bought product, and just so happens to include glitter
which surely adds to the excitement of these small trifles! You may be
able to see the shimmer of the glitter in the image above!
So, here's how to make Raspberry & White Chocolate Mini Trifles!
chocolate, these individual mini trifles are not only elegant and eye
catching but are also a perfect dessert for dinner parties. They're
ideal regardless of the number of guests.
Hands on time: about 25 mins Bake time: 0 mins Yield: 5 individual trifles
Specific Equipment
5 individual clear containers. We reserved these from some 'posh' yogurts. They each hold 130ml.
For the Trifles
- 5 discs of Cake (see note a below)
- 1 pt / 568ml Raspberry Jelly (see note b below)
- 25 Fresh Raspberries
- 1 portion of White Chocolate Creme Patissiere (or shop bought ready made custard - see note e below)
- c80ml Double Cream
- A drop or two of Vanilla Extract (optional)
- 2 tsp Icing Sugar (optional)
For the White Chocolate Creme Patissiere
- 100ml Double Cream
- 100ml Milk
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 50g Caster Sugar
- 20g Corn Flour
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- 50g White Chocolate
To finish
- small handful White Chocolate Stars
- a few Fresh Raspberries
- Small Mint Leaves (optional)
Notes:
a) Most spare cake will be fine, such as two or three cupcakes or slices of cake. A vanilla sponge would be ideal, though lemon would work equally well. Avoid using chocolate cake as this would detract from the flavour of the raspberry and white chocolate and also affect the aesthetics. Alternatively, consider buying a raspberry swiss roll. b) If preparing these trifles for a vegetarian remember to purchase a vegetarian jelly! We used Hartley's Raspberry Glitter Jelly. c) If you're working with a vegetarian jelly be aware that they set a lot faster than those containing gelatine. You will need to work relatively swiftly during steps 3 and 4. d) You may have a little jelly left over depending upon the size of your clear jars. We poured our surplus into a small bowl to enjoy later. e) If using shop bought custard consider melting 50g of white chocolate over a bain marie (or if you prefer in a microwave in very short bursts) and stir into the custard.
Kat BakingExplorer
Wow these are stunning and so beautifully presented!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thankyou Kat 🙂
Angela x
Kate Glutenfreealchemist
Nothing beats a good trifle.... I seem to have made (and blogged) endless varieties too! These ones are so cute though. I love the layers on the jars.... and thanks for some great tips at the end. I especially love the idea of adding chocolate to shop-bought custard! x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
I'm with you there Kate - we just love trifle!
Aw thankyou Kate, I'm glad you like the tips and the dinky nature of our trifle version.
Angela x
Jenny-Apply to Face blog
Beautiful as usual Angela.What a great flavour combo.I haven't done much with white chocolate bizarrely and this recipe looks perfect.Love the jars too!x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thankyou Jenny, I'm a bit of a fan of white chocolate especially with raspberries because they balance one another so well. Those jars have had a lot of love, they've been so useful!
Angela x
midge @Peachicks Bakery
Gorgeous! And so easy to adapt to be Peachick safe! Definitely going to have a go at these! x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thankyou Midge, I hope you enjoy them as much as we have,
Angela x
Rebecca Beesley
we love trifles but im often too lazy to make my own. These are so cute!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Trifles are just fab aren't they Rebecca. I find that they just take a bit of time to firm up, but using a vegetarian jelly definitely makes things a lot quicker.
Thanks for your lovely comment rebecca,
Angela x
Basement Bakehouse
These look beautiful Angela! I love that they're individually done, although I'm not sure I could stop at one!!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thankyou, I love individual desserts, they always seem that little bit more special to me 🙂
Angela x
Mandy
What lovely desserts! They are so pretty and would be perfect on the table for any dinner party.
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thankyou Mandy xx
Monika Dabrowski
These look so gorgeous Angela! I love that you made individual trifle portions, they look beautiful. Though I'd probably want to eat 2! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare:)
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Hahaha, I had the same feeling but I have to say that the white chocolate custard is actually quite rich so you may infact find that one is ample.
Thankks for your lovely comment Monika,
Angela x
Eb Gargano
Such a lovely recipe! I particularly love how you've made individual ones. Trifles remind me of my Grandma too - she used to make a really fab raspberry and sherry trifle. It was a bit different from the norm as it had no jelly in it, but the sherry more than made up for that!! She was a totally fab old fashioned cook and made so many other delicious memories - I particularly remember her ham...and her ability to make the humble jacket potato taste amazing...oh and her apple pies! I must try and recreate her trifle on my blog one day! Eb x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Ooh yes do Eb! We always have trifle with jelly and it can occassionally be a pain hunting out vegetarian ones, so to see a jelly free trifle would be great. And let's not forget the sherry 😉 I love thinking back to all of the things Grandma made for us, and what she taught us. Bless my Grandma, I recall watching 'Why Don't You' one day in the long summer holidays and being adament that I wanted to make a homemade icecream (no icecream makers back then!). Mum wasn't keen, but Grandma indulged me and we set too the following day and made icecream together 🙂
Angela xx
Recipes Made Easy
You are a girl after my own heart. I think trifle is my to die for dish. I love the little pots they would be ideal for our dinner party club when we have to make a dessert as they would be so transportable. I also love the idea of the free standing triffle.
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thankyou Jacqueline, we just love trifle as well. we have it just about every time we all get together! Those little pots are fab aren't they - as soon as i saw them in the supermarket i had to get a couple because not only did the yogurt (that was in the pots) sound as though it would be lovely they sang out as being perfect for my blogging bits and bobs!! I'm sure you know what I mean! That free standing trifle was an awful lot of fun, a big relief though when it was obvious that the custard had set thick enough to hold!
Angela x
Sarah James
Your mini trifles look delicious Angela, I love the raspberries and white chocolate combination, perfect.
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thankyou Sarah, we just love raspberries & white chocolate together!
Angela x