Delicious Mini Patriotic Trifles with Pudding and Berries
Hey there, friends! Are you ready to embrace the summer vibes with us? We’ve got the perfect treat to kick off the season – mini patriotic trifles with pudding and berries! These little beauties are layered with fluffy cake, sweet pudding, and tangy berries, making them a delightful addition to any summer gathering. Plus, with fresh berries in peak season, it’s the perfect time to whip up and share this delicious dessert all summer long. Let’s celebrate the season with these irresistible mini trifles for July 4th and summer.
What is Trifle?
Typically, trifle is a dessert with layers that are displayed in a glass bowl to show off its beautiful presentation. Trifle bowls usually have straight sides and a flat bottom to highlight the layers, but other attractive glass dishes, like vintage crystal bowls, can also be used. In the past, trifles were often made with egg custard and sponge cake soaked in sherry. However, nowadays, there are countless variations of trifle desserts, making it a wonderfully versatile treat.
We are showcasing how you can turn the original trifle into adorable miniature versions using small water goblets, wine glasses, or clear plastic cups!
Ingredients
- 2 packages of Vanilla INSTANT PUDDING (3.4 oz packages)
- 4 cups milk
- 1 prepared cake: angel food, pound cake, or yellow cake
- 2 pounds of strawberries
- 4 cups blueberries
- 2 Cool Whip containers
You will notice in our ingredients shot below we have cook and serve pudding. Our dad accidentally brought home the cook and serve instead of instant from the store. We went ahead and used it for our photos on that day since we were already ready to go with all the other ingredients for our photo shoot – since it does work fine. But it is definitely more work.
There are other differences between instant pudding and cook and serve pudding, as well, with many being in favor of the flavor and texture of cook and serve. But we recommend you use instant vanilla pudding in this particular recipe if you are looking for ease.
Best Flavor Combinations for a Fruit Trifle
We haven’t met many trifles we didn’t enjoy! And even if one of us isn’t that into a certain flavor, ususally the other one or two of us are!
Here are some typical trifle flavor combinations.
Popular Berry Combinations for a Patriotic Mini Trifles
- Blueberries with strawberries
- Blueberries with raspberries
- Blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries
Typical Flavor Combinations for Non-Patriotic Mini Trifles
- Blackberries, blueberries, and nuts
- Pumpkin with chocolate
- Strawberry with chocolate
- Chocolate, pretzels, nuts, and caramel (turtle)
- Banana pudding with bananas
Selecting Pudding for Mini Trifles
You can pick whichever flavor of pudding you prefer. While vanilla is a timeless option, white chocolate pudding is a great choice for a patriotic trifle as it offers a different flavor while still maintaining the cream color needed for a patriotic dish.
In terms of saving time, instant pudding is the best option for this recipe. However, cook and serve pudding or homemade versions taste just as good in a trifle. They just require a bit more time to prepare. We have used the cook and serve vanilla pudding before in our mini trifles. The hard part is the waiting around for the pudding to cook and then cool down enough to use it in the recipe. For this reason, we think instant is the way to go!
When we took this picture, we still had a ways to go of cooking and stirring!
Choosing a Cake Base
When it comes to the cake base, there are plenty of options to choose from. Whether it’s store-bought or homemade, angel food cake, sponge cake, pound cake, yellow cake, or white cake all serve as a fantastic base for trifle desserts. This is one dessert where a store-bought cake from the grocery store bakery will do the trick, and no one will even notice.
You can also use a frozen and thawed pound cake from the freezer section. Once the trifle is put together, the cake will be covered with delicious layers of pudding and fruit.
How to Layer Your Mini Berry Trifles
Trifles offer a lot of flexibility when it comes to layering. Some trifles start with cake cubes as the first layer, followed by the pudding layer, while others begin with the pudding layer followed by the cake cubes.
The number of layers you create depends on the depth of the glasses you are using for the mini trfiles. Taller glasses typically have three layers each of cake, pudding, and fruit, while squattier glasses can be nicely filled with two layers of each ingredient.
When layering the ingredients, make sure each layer can be seen from all angles. This ensures a beautiful presentation for your mini trifles.
Serving Mini Patriotic Trifles
You can prepare this patriotic trifle the day before and keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve it. Just keep in mind that the longer it sits in the fridge, the more the layers might separate. While the trifle will still be tasty on the second or third day, it’s best to serve it on the day it’s made for the best appearance.
We definitely like to wolf ours down on the day we make them or by the next day!
This tasty dessert is perfect for all the summer holidays and leisurely days between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Extra Tips
- Macerating the strawberries is a must (it is simply allowing the chopped strawberries to mingle with sugar for a little while to draw out the flavors and juices).
- Remember…instant pudding will move prep along faster than cook and serve pudding (though cook and serve pudding will also work). If you do choose to use cook and serve pudding, simply follow the pudding instructions on the box and allow the pudding to chill before using it in the trifle steps.
- Pull out any fun glasses that rarely get used! Unique glassware is really fun for mini trifles! Just make sure the mouth of the glasses is large enough to easily move a spoon in and out.
- Add an extra big dollop of Cool Whip at the top for a fun presentation and top with extra berries.
Mini Patriotic Trifles with Berries
Ingredients
- 2 lb Strawberries quartered (with ½ cup reserved for garnish)
- ½ cups White sugar
- 4 cups Blueberries (with ½ cup reserved for garnish)
- 6.8 oz Instant vanilla pudding 2 packages of 3.4 ounces
- 4 cups Milk
- 16 oz Angel food cake one whole cake; cubed
- 16 oz Cool Whip two of the 8 ounce containers
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add the quartered strawberries and cover with the 2 tablespoons of sugar to macerate the strawberries and create a bit of strawberry juice. Stir well to coat the strawberries in the sugar. Set aside for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the instant pudding mix and the milk. Stir until the pudding is smooth. Fold 8 ounces of Cool Whip into the pudding. Put mixture in the refrigerator and allow it to chill for 20-30 minutes.
- In the bottom of each glass, add 3-4 cake cubes.
- Strain the strawberry juice – which should now be at the bottom of the bowl of strawberries and pour a bit of it over the cake cubes.
- With a large spoon, carefully drop a spoonful of pudding mixture over the layer of cake cubes.
- Add in a spoonful of quartered strawberries.
- Add in a spoonful of blueberries.
- Repeat steps #3-7 until you end with the fruit on top. The top layer of fruit should be near the top of the glass. (You may not have enough strawberry juice to do that step a second time._
- Top with a large spoonful of Cool Whip (from the second Cool Whip container.)
- Garnish with the reserved fresh strawberries and blueberries.
- Keep trifle glasses in the refrigerator until ready to serve – chilling for at least three hours and up until one day.
Notes
Nutrition
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