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This fruit trifle is a gorgeous dish made of fresh fruit and only fresh fruit. These colorful layers are as tasty as they are beautiful!
What Fruits Do You Put in a Trifle?
The sky’s the limit when it comes to what kind of fruits to use in a fruit trifle. Berries and fruits that don’t brown easily will stay longer and look prettier. Bananas aren’t ideal unless you plan on serving the trifle right away. If you do want to add bananas, apples, or fruit that has a higher chance of browning, put them near the middle or bottom. Here are some ideas for what fruit to use in a fruit trifle:
- Strawberries
- Kiwi
- Blueberries
- Raspberries/Blackberries
- Nectarines
- Grapes
- Pineapple
- Fresh peaches
- Mandarin oranges
- Mangoes
- Cantaloupe
- Watermelon
- Honeydew
What is the Best Way to Layer a Fruit Trifle?
There are two things to take into consideration when layering a trifle:
- Firmness – This is probably the most important thing to consider when layering a fruit trifle. Put delicate fruit like raspberries and blackberries near the top and fruits that can handle more weight like strawberries, kiwis, and grapes near the bottom.
- Color & Texture – This is purely for presentation purposes. When planning out your layers, try to mix up the colors and textures. Make a pattern or only use certain colors. Like red and green around Christmas-time or your favorite sports team colors.
Can I use Frozen Fruit?
Fresh will taste best but frozen fruit works great too. Keep in mind that frozen berries, when thawed, may have juices that will drip down over the other fruit. Also, sometimes the fruit that is frozen isn’t as sweet. You may want to toss the fruit in a little sugar before adding to the trifle.
Add a Topping or Fruit Dip
Because this fruit trifle doesn’t have layers of whipped cream, cool whip, or instant pudding, you can always add a bowl of it on the side. Set a out couple cans of store-bought whipped cream or make your own whipped cream by whipping together heavy cream, powdered sugar, and a splash of vanilla extract. If you want to take it a step further, make our Easy Cream Cheese Fruit Dip (HIGHLY recommended). Just place a bowl of the fruit dip next to the fruit trifle and let your guests add as much as they would like to their individual plates.
Variations
Most trifles have layers of cake, custard, cheesecake, or pudding (or any combination of these). You can add these kinds of layers to your fruit trifle or you can go with one of these other ideas:
Berry Trifle – Layer cubes of pound cake (or butter cake), instant pudding or whipped cream (or mix both together) and a layer of berries. Repeat layers until the trifle dish is full.
Chocolate Trifle – This chocolate trifle recipe has layers of brownies, pudding, whipped cream, and candy bars!
Pumpkin Trifle – This Easy Pumpkin Trifle has a ginger snap cookie layer, a rich pumpkin spice cheesecake layer, and a fluffy homemade whipped cream layer.
Lemon Berry Trifle – Layer angel food cake, lemon pudding (with added lemon zest), whipped cream, and your favorite berries to make this zesty fruit trifle.
Make a Trifle in Advance
You can assemble the entire trifle 1-2 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. If you are planning on assembling the trifle at a different location, you can wash and prepare the fruit and place each layer in a separate bag before transporting. If you are using apples or pears or a fruit that browns easily, you may want to toss a teaspoon or two of lemon juice in the bag and gently shake to cover the fruit. This will help prevent browning while transporting.
Servings in a Fruit Trifle
Trifles are usually made for larger groups and typically serves 12 people. Because this trifle is made with fruit only, I would say it serves closer to 20. If served with a dip on the side, it could probably serve 24 or more.
Tips:
- If desired, toss some of the fruit, such as the berries, in a little bit of sugar. I particularly like to gently toss the strawberries with a tablespoon or two of sugar to bring out the flavor and sweetness.
- Make a design on the top of the trifle using the leftover prepared fruit (see image below)
Storing the Leftovers:
If there is a lot left over, you can leave the fruit in the trifle dish and cover with plastic wrap until ready to serve again. Otherwise, you can place the fruit in a plastic freezer bag or airtight container and refrigerate for 2-3 days.
More Recipes with Fresh Fruit
How to Make a Fruit Trifle
Fruit Trifle
Equipment
- 1 trifle dish (8-9" diameter in size)
Ingredients
- 1-2 pounds strawberries
- 1 pound green grapes
- 2 (6-ounce packages) blackberries
- 3-4 nectarines
- 2 (6-ounce packages) raspberries
- 1 (10-ounce package) blueberries (or about 2 cups)
- 3-4 kiwis
Instructions
- Prepare each fruit by washing thoroughly. Hull and slice the strawberries, remove the grapes from the vine, cut the nectarines into slices, and peel and slice the kiwi fruit.
- Layer the fruit in the trifle one at a time. While layering the fruit, place a ring of the fruit around the edge first so it looks pretty (see the strawberries in the picture) then fill in with the rest of the fruit layer. Continue doing this with each layer.
- The layer order we did was: strawberries, grapes, blackberries, nectarines, raspberries, and blueberries. Then we did a single ring of sliced kiwi around the top to make a scalloped edge.
- To top off the dish, make a design with any of the leftover fruit on hand. We made a little flower with sliced nectarines and strawberries with blackberries at the center.
This idea is perfect for gathering. Thank you so much for sharing that.
Fresh fruit is always a hit with my family and this was so much prettier than a fruit salad. Thanks for the idea!