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This lemon blueberry trifle is a perfect no bake dessert for a hot summer day! The delicious flavours are delivered through adding lashings of Italian limoncello liqueur to the trifle sponges as well as lemon curd and fresh, juicy blueberries. What a treat!
You can also try my Pumpkin Mousse Trifle, a recipe for another season but just as delicious.
I didn’t grow up eating trifle, but my husband did and when he first introduced me to this wonderful mess of cake, cream, custard and fruit, it was love at first sight … and bite.
The best thing about trifles, apart from their divine taste, they barely take any time to throw together. And they don’t require any baking. Perfect for hot summer days!
Trifle Recipes
Trifle flavours and ingredients vary but the principle remains the same.
All you have to do is to build layers of delicious things made out of cake, curds, puddings, fresh fruit and top them all with softly whipped cream. Trifles are usually served in special This is an affiliate link.trifle bowls, so all beautiful layers are on display.
My personal favourite layer in all trifles is a delicate vanilla custard. Brits really perfected the art of custards. They are customarily used to drown all sorts of puddings – read “desserts” – before they are considered fit to eat and a big part of traditional English Trifle.
Custard take a little bit of patience and loving care to prepare but today I am cutting corners and using a lemon curd folded into a cloud of whipped cream instead of a custard.
However if you still wish to make it, take a look at my recipe for rhubarb custard.
This is an affiliate link.Lemon curd is another famous British delicacy – creamy, sweet and sharp at the same time! Lemon curd is a classic pairing for blueberries and is amazing in all sorts of other recipes, such as this cheesecake!
There are many tasty ways to make a trifle and here is one of mine. This Blueberry Limoncello trifle is as easy as it is unforgettable! Feel free to experiment and mix things up according to your own taste. It’s hard to get it wrong.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- The base of any trifle is cake, usually an old one. That is why alcohol like sweet sherry is used to soften it and bring back the moisture. I use pre-made trifle sponges available in most supermarkets and soaked them in lemon flavoured Limoncello instead of sherry. You can also use lady fingers (or sponge fingers), the same ones that go into tiramisu, or Madeira cake.
- I decided to intensify the lemon flavour and fragrance by adding a generous amount of the famous Italian liqueur and I didn’t regret it. Pure indulgence!
- If you’d like to keep your trifle alcohol free, soak the cake in lemon syrup or lemon cordial.
- The second layer is lemon curd folded into softly whipped cream. The trick is here not to over whip. We want a cloud like texture, not butter. Stop when you see soft peaks forming. Be careful when it’s time to stir in the lemon curd to not sacrifice the volume of the cream.
- I add a gorgeous layer of fresh blueberries, plus more on top. If other berries are more available or seasonal, they can be used here instead. The tartness of blackberries would complement the other ingredients very well!
Storage and leftovers
You can and should make a trifle a day ahead. The cake layer needs that time to soak up all the flavours and to regain the moisture. Keep it in your refrigerator, covered and sealed so it doesn’t absorb other scents or flavours.
However, hold fire with the decorations. It’s best to top with fresh berries and chocolate curls just before serving. This will make it look more attractive.
Keep the trifle refrigerated and consume the leftovers within two days. It’s best to keep it out of the freezer though, as the cream can separate if frozen.
More no bake desserts
- Layered Blackberry Fool
- No Bake Strawberry Meringue Cheesecake
- Frozen Pina Colada (Virgin)
- English Fridge Cake
Blueberry Limoncello Trifle
Equipment
- This is an affiliate link.Royalty Art trifle bowl with pedestal
- This is an affiliate link.Breville hand mixer
- This is an affiliate link.Pyrex mixing bowls
Ingredients
- 200g / 7 oz trifle sponges, or pound cake
- 3 tbsp Limoncello, or other lemon flavoured liqueur
- 500ml / 2 cups This is an affiliate link.lemon curd, prepared
- 750ml / 3 cups whipping cream, divided
- 4 tbsp sugar, divided
- 2 tsp This is an affiliate link.vanilla
- 400g / 14oz blueberries
- 50g / 2oz white chocolate, for decoration
- lemon zest, for decoration
Instructions
- Arrange trifle sponges on the bottom of a trifle dish attractively-make a pattern if you wish and sprinkle with limoncello.
- Whip 500ml/2 cups of the cream with an electric mixer with 2 tbsp of sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the curd with a whisk until light and runny. Gently fold the curd into the whipping cream without losing the volume and reserving 125ml/1/2 cup.
- Layer 1/2 of blueberries on top of the cake, then add the creamy curd mixture. Carefully spread a thin layer of the reserved curd.
- Whip the remaining cream with 2 tsp. of sugar and vanilla. Top your trifle with it and decorate with more blueberries, white chocolate curls and lemon zest curls.
Notes
- You can substitute Limoncello with lemon syrup to make it alcohol free.
- You can also use lady fingers or cubes of pound cake in place of trifle sponges.
- To make chocolate curls drag a blade of your knife along a chocolate bar until curls form or use a vegetable peeler. However my favourite tool is my cheese slicer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I just made this and found 2 cups of lemon curd was way too sweet. I will try again with only 1 cup.
Hi Vicka! I ran into your blog and I just love your recipes.
I will be visiting your blog often! 🙂
Wow, this looks so refreshing! Perfect for summer!
Lovely! I have never made a trifle before, but have recently become a huge fan of no bake desserts! Perfect for outdoor picnics at my school! Thanks for sharing!
This looks so amazing, beautiful styling.. and now I’m craving trifle!
ps love the joey reference too 🙂
I didn’t grow up eating trifle either but this is just beautiful!
Wow! That is a beautiful bowl! Love lemon and blueberries together.
Thank you, Jennifer! 🙂