Lemon Dessert Trifle Recipe
Bright, fresh, and irresistibly creamy, this lemon dessert trifle with Chantilly cream is the perfect make-ahead treat for spring and summer gatherings. Easy to serve in individual glasses or a classic trifle dish!
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 165kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lemon pound cake store-bought or homemade, cubed
Chantilly Cream
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- 1 (12-oz) lemon curd homemade or store-bought
- fresh mint sprigs for serving
- lemon slices for serving
Instructions
- Cut the pound cake into 1/2-1 inch squares. Keep them small and bite size.
Chantilly Cream
- In a large bowl add the heavy whipping cream, vanilla and confectioners' sugar. With an electric mixer, whip the cream until soft peaks form, about 3-5 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Assemble the Mini Trifles
- Add a layer of cubed lemon pound cake in the bottom of the glasses or bowls. Depending on the size of your serving containers, this is usually about a 1-inch slice of pound cake cubed into 1/2-1-inch pieces. Add a layer of Chantilly Cream, followed by a thin layer of lemon curd, and a final layer of cream on top. When I have extra cream left over, I will whip it into stiff peaks with the mixer and pipe a dollop of decorative cream using a star tip as the final layer.
Serving
- If serving immediately, add thin half-moon slices of lemon to the top, along with sprigs of fresh mint. Otherwise, refrigerate the servings for up to 24 hours and garnish them before serving.
Notes
- Pound Cake: I love using lemon pound cake in this trifle. If you are using a ready-made pound cake and can only find vanilla, it's delicious too. I would then add finely grated lemon zest (about 1 lemon) to the Chantilly Cream (along with the other ingredients) to elevate the lemon flavor.
- Chantilly Cream: This is a quick and simple cream, but you can substitute prepared whipped topping (like Cool Whip) for a super quick fix.
- Lemon Curd: Lemon curd is easy to make and incredibly delicious. See my lemon curd recipe, but you can also buy a jar of lemon curd and use that instead. Depending on the size of your serving containers, you will need about one jar.
- Storing: If you have leftovers, they’ll keep well refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 43mg | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 656IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 0.05mg