Summer Berry Trifle
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This berry trifle is perfect for a summer party — it’s refreshing, gorgeous, and make-ahead.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
Berry trifles make wonderful (and patriotic) summer party desserts. Not only are they gorgeous, they feed a crowd and are made in advance. The only drawback is that, with all their layers, they can be time-consuming to make from scratch. I save time by using store-bought Savoiardi biscuits (a.k.a. crisp ladyfingers), cream cheese, and raspberry jam. The result is a dazzling, delicious berry trifle that can be made in 30 minutes. Use a deep, clear glass bowl or a footed glass trifle dish so the pretty layers can be seen. And don’t worry if the layers look slightly uneven or if the layers mix a bit — that’s the beauty of a trifle. You can also make the trifle in small glasses as individual parfaits.
“Oh my! This is so easy, beautiful and absolutely delicious!! Made for a party and everyone raved.”
What You’ll Need For Summer Berry Trifle
Step-By-Step Instructions
To begin, warm the raspberry jam in the microwave.
Toss it with the berries and let it sit while you prepare the rest of the trifle.
Beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form, then set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and Confectioners’ sugar.
Beat until smooth and creamy, then beat in the vanilla.
Add a third of the whipped cream.
Beat until smooth and then add the remaining cream.
Fold with a rubber spatula until evenly combined.
To assemble, begin by layering the lady fingers in the bottom of the dish. Top with a third of the berry mixture, followed by a third of the cream. Continue alternating the lady fingers, berries, and cream.
End with the cream cheese mixture on top; for the last layer of cream, leave a 1-inch border around the edge showing the fruit beneath. Sprinkle some berries and a fresh mint on top.
Let the trifle chill for at least 8 hours, then top with some fresh berries and a spring of fresh mint, if desired.
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Video Tutorial
Summer Berry Trifle
This berry trifle is perfect for a summer party — it’s refreshing, gorgeous, and make-ahead.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (8 oz) seedless raspberry jam
- 1 quart (1½ pounds) strawberries, hulled and cut into ¼-inch slices
- 1 pint (12 oz) raspberries
- 1 pint (12 oz) blueberries
- 1½ cups heavy whipping cream, cold
- 16 ounces cream cheese (preferably Philadelphia brand), at room temperature
- 1¾ cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (7 oz) package crisp lady fingers (also called savoiardi biscuits)
- Fresh mint spring, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Set aside a few berries for topping the trifle.
- Heat the raspberry jam in a large bowl in the microwave for about 1 minute, or until hot and liquidy. Add the fresh berries and toss to coat. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the recipe, stirring occasionally.
- In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with the powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla, then beat in a third of the whipped cream. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the rest of the whipped cream until well combined.
- Cover the bottom of a 9-inch (14-cup capacity) trifle dish or glass bowl with a layer of lady fingers (break into pieces as necessary). Follow with ⅓ of the berry-jam mixture (including ⅓ of the juices), then ⅓ of the cream. Alternate, ending with the cream cheese mixture on top; for the last layer of cream, leave a 1-inch border around the edge showing the fruit beneath. Garnish with the reserved whole berries and a fresh mint spring if using. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight, before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 servings)
- Calories: 554
- Fat: 31g
- Saturated fat: 18g
- Carbohydrates: 65g
- Sugar: 41g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 7g
- Sodium: 197mg
- Cholesterol: 143mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made this dessert the last weekend for my husband’s Bday. It was absolutely outstanding. I’ve made different deserts with pastry cream before but this one takes the prize. Please do not substitute anything for cream cheese or decrease it’s amount. It’s worth it. It’s what makes it different from other similar recipes.
This recipe is a show stopper! My entire family devoured it for dinner and what was left over was literally fought over for breakfast. It is the best trifle recipe ever and the cream cheese mixture was to die for! I used Polander All-Fruit for the jam, substituted 1/3 less fat cream cheese, and used a Sara Lee Pound cake from the freezer section. So incredibly delicious. Jenn…thank you for the work you put into perfecting your recipes. Everything I have tried on this site has been outstanding. My cookbook arrives today and I can’t wait.
So glad you enjoyed this and hope you find lots of new favorites in the cookbook! 🙂
1st time to make a trifle. Used Angel cake instead of Lady Fingers. Skipped the raspberry jam. Did everything by hand. Was a huge success! Definitely bookmarking this for future use!
Made this recipe for Christmas, the family LOVED it! Everyone wanted the recipe. Big succes!! Btw, I used pound cake in stead of the lady fingers.
I bake gluten free with no refined sugar so used some powdered monkfruit in place of the sugar in the cream cheese mixture and also added 2-3 T of cognac. I used one box of Simple Mills yellow cake mix to sub out the ladyfingers. Unbelievable. Served it to guests the other day and it’s such a beautiful presentation, they were amazed and stuffed by the time they left our house! Another alternative is to use chocolate cake with just raspberries tossed in raspberry preserves with a little chambord. Use the same white cream mixture and toss in some diced chocolate chunks. Thank you for this absolutely amazing recipe. I LOVE your cookbook also. You along with Ina Garten have the best recipes on the internet hands down.
So glad you like the recipes!! 🙂
I’ve never made a trifle before and was considering making this one as my first one. I’ve noticed many trifle recipes have sherry in them. Has anyone added sherry to this recipe, and if so, did it turn out?
Hello! So I joined a cookbook club at our library and the way it works is that our librarian picks a cookbook and everyone picks a recipe. We make it at home then bring it to the library and we all have a feast on the date scheduled. We label the dishes so everyone knows what it is. We then go around and describe the recipe and evaluate it. Well your cookbook was picked! I am sorry to say that I never heard of you. That changed! I made the berry trifle and it was outstanding. Everyone loved it and my husband said it looked like it should be on a magazine cover. It was easy to make as well. The entire library dinner was a huge success, every dish was cooked from your book. So I immediately bought the book and told my friends and they bought it too. So far I made the key lime pie, roasted carrots and Israeli salad. I subscribed to your blog and love getting your recipes and listening to your stories. I will be using your pie crust recipe next. So if there will be another cookbook I will definitely add it to my collection. Thanks so much for all the great recipes. I am working my way through them. The recipes turn out great the first time as well. My husband thanks you too. Three key lime pies later-the best ever!!! Flossie
Hi Flossie, so glad you were exposed to the cookbook through your club and have enjoyed all the recipes – – your note made my day! 🙂 ❤️
I made this for the first time and like many of the other reviewers, five stars all the way! What a great dessert! I wanted to share my review specifically for all the gluten-free people out there. If that’s you, well, you’re one of my people 🙂 GF lady fingers are hard to find sometimes and when I made this, my main grocery store did not have any. For a substitution, I baked a King Arthur GF yellow cake mix and after letting the cake cool, I cut into small squares. The trifle looked just as beautiful and garnered RAVE reviews from my gluten-eating family and friends. All the other parts of the recipe I did as Jenn has written.
Love, love, love this recipe. It looked so amazing, I took photos! lol The whipped cream/cream cheese made it easier and soooooooo delicious. Just wish I could make this, somehow, during the winter, but fresh berries in Canada during the winter…not going to happen. Sigh.
Looks yummy, can’t wait to make it tonight! I do not have any lady fingers. Can I sub it with graham crackers?? TIA!
-Dee
Hi Dee, I’ve never tried graham crackers here, so it’s hard to say. I suspect they may work, but if you want to go with something that other readers have had success with (and can’t find ladyfingers in your store), you could use cut up pound cake or angel food cake. Hope that helps!