Irish Trifle
- Total Time
- 2 hours, plus at least 5 hours’ chilling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:10 servings
- 1tablespoon butter, softened, for greasing pan
- 85grams cake flour (scant ¾ cup)
- 14grams cornstarch (1½ tablespoons)
- 120grams eggs (2 extra-large eggs plus 1 tablespoon)
- 150grams sugar (⅔ cup), divided
- 2teaspoons vanilla extract
- 85grams egg whites (2½ whites)
- Pinch of salt
- 1tablespoon butter, melted
- ⅓cup cream sherry, more to taste
- ⅓cup raspberry jam
- 2⅔cups chilled crème anglaise (see recipe)
- 1cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- Freshly grated nutmeg
For the Cake
For the Trifle
Preparation
- Step 1
Make the cake: Brush a 9-inch cake pan with softened butter and lightly flour sides. Lay pan on a sheet of parchment paper and trace around bottom of pan. Cut parchment round and place in pan with pencil marks facing down. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Step 2
Sift cake flour and cornstarch into a bowl or onto a sheet of parchment.
- Step 3
In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle, combine 2 eggs, half the sugar and the vanilla. Mix at low speed for 30 seconds to combine. Turn mixer to highest speed and beat for 5 minutes, until mixture is light, pale and fluffy. Turn mixer down to medium and beat for 3 minutes. Scrape mixture out into a large bowl. Gently fold in half the flour mixture, then gently fold in remaining half.
- Step 4
Wash the stand mixer bowl thoroughly with soap and hot water, then dry. Add egg whites, remaining sugar and salt to bowl. Using the whisk attachment, beat at medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes, or long enough to obtain a soft, creamy meringue. Do not over-whip; you do not want a stiff and dry meringue.
- Step 5
Carefully fold half the egg white mixture into batter, along with melted butter. Carefully fold in remaining egg white mixture. Gently scrape into prepared cake pan. Put cake pan on a baking sheet and place in oven. Bake 30 minutes, until light golden brown and a tester comes out clean.
- Step 6
Remove from oven and reverse onto a rack. Remove parchment paper and cool for 5 minutes, then flip cake over and let cool completely. Wrap tightly in plastic if not using right away. Cake can be made a few days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for several weeks.
- Step 7
Assemble the trifle: At least 6 hours, and no more than 24 hours, before you plan to serve trifle, spread top of cake with jam and cut into 2-inch squares. Line a flat wide bowl (preferably a trifle dish) with cake squares, in one layer. Douse cake with 2 to 4 tablespoons cream sherry, more if desired. Cover with parchment or plastic wrap , set a plate on top, and set a weight (such as a large can of tomatoes) on top of the plate. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or longer.
- Step 8
Uncover cake. Spike crème anglaise with a tablespoon or two of sherry if desired, and pour over cake. Chill for an hour or more in refrigerator.
- Step 9
Just before serving, beat cream until it forms soft peaks, and flavor it with a spoonful of cream sherry if desired. Spoon over trifle. Dust with a very small amount of nutmeg and serve.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Sarah
A Christmas tradition (3 years running), my Irish in-laws love it. This takes some time but the effort is worth it. I bought a trifle dish specifically for this recipe, which works beautifully to store fruit in throughout the rest of the year.
Charlene
My guests loved this. I decorated with raspberries on top and did not have time to make the cake so bought an Angel cake and used that.
matt
I put sherry on the sponge and brandy in the custard. It’s delicious.but just don’t drive afterwards!
hicountryho
I am Irish and grew up loving my Gran's trifle recipe. That said, an Irish trifle requires fruit atop the cake, before pouring the custard over. Thinly sliced apples, mandarin oranges, and assorted berries were what she typically used.
Jinty
This trifle does take a little work and time but it is totally worth it. I cooked it for a special family party and everyone loved it. I sieved the raspberry jam to remove the seeds and I was glad I put in the extra effort. I would suggest making a little more creme anglais as the custard layer is extra good.
Philippa
This is so popular in Ireland that you can purchase 'trifle sponge' in supermarkets. My mother also substitutes Savoiardi Bicuits or lady fingers as an easy and attractive alternative.
kc
Also suggest doubling the whip cream!
kc
Delicious! The dense cake perfect for soaking up sherry. Try to angle exterior cake squares so they press up a good bit against the glass (pretty to see the layers clearly). When parchment paper gets set down on the jam side of the cake, it takes a good bit of the jam with it on removal (should jam side go down?) I added a ring of raspberries around the outside which was pretty and tasty — do that right before the whip cream goes on. Would pipe whip cream next time as the glass sides got messy.
FrenchNutcraker
I am Irish and my Mom made Irish trifle when I was growing up. Her recipe is from County Mayo and was what she grew up making. I made the cake portion of this recipe and stuck to my Mom's for the rest and oh boy- was this cake recipe an utter failure. Use sponge or poundcake in the trifle- not the cake suggested here.
Liz
Loved this trifle - I come from Ireland and grew up with sherry trifle every Christmas - I used a gluten free cake mix which turned out perfectly, sherry, raspberry seedless jam and Devon custard - lots of whipped cream and fresh raspberries, it was a lovely combination and I was sorry when it was all eaten! I would suggest extra sherry - maybe double the amount so it soaks into the entire sponge!
Chris S.
A Martha Shulman 7-day wonder!!!! Blessings, and thank you.
hicountryho
I am Irish and grew up loving my Gran's trifle recipe. That said, an Irish trifle requires fruit atop the cake, before pouring the custard over. Thinly sliced apples, mandarin oranges, and assorted berries were what she typically used.
matt
I put sherry on the sponge and brandy in the custard. It’s delicious.but just don’t drive afterwards!
Charlene
My guests loved this. I decorated with raspberries on top and did not have time to make the cake so bought an Angel cake and used that.
Jinty
This trifle does take a little work and time but it is totally worth it. I cooked it for a special family party and everyone loved it. I sieved the raspberry jam to remove the seeds and I was glad I put in the extra effort. I would suggest making a little more creme anglais as the custard layer is extra good.
Sarah
A Christmas tradition (3 years running), my Irish in-laws love it. This takes some time but the effort is worth it. I bought a trifle dish specifically for this recipe, which works beautifully to store fruit in throughout the rest of the year.
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