This is the perfect simple trifle, with layers of fresh berries, an easy and delicious cream, and vanilla Sara Lee cake. It’s one of our favorites, and comes together in a snap.
Why you should make this recipe:
It’s the perfect combination of flavors. Fresh assorted berries, a smooth and silky barely sweet cream, and that perfect buttery vanilla pound cake. We are big fans of the ready made pound cakes from Sara Lee cake in this house, I still haven’t managed to nail a homemade pound cake recipe that’s as good!
Using ready made cake makes this so much easier too. It’s a matter of slicing the cake, whipping together the cream, and layering!
The dessert is very visually stunning, with layers of colorful berries peeking out- especially if you use a clear trifle dish.
This trifle gets even better the next day!
Ingredients you need for this berries and cream trifle:
For the cream:
Thick cream or table cream (some sort of stabilized cream that’s thicker than heavy cream).
Dream Whip Powder
Creme Caramel Powder sachet: You only need the powder from this, not the syrup mixture
Heavy cream
Milk
Sweetened Condensed Milk: This is a lovely way to sweeten the cream and add a little depth of flavor. You could use sugar instead if you like.
For assembling:
Sara Lee Cake: (vanilla pound cake, I used the regular sized but if you like a lot of cake you can go for the larger family size), thawed. It doesn’t take long to thaw at room temperature at all.
Mixed Berries: I used strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. Each one has a different flavor to offer and they are visually very appealing all mixed together. You can use any berries you like. Try making this with only strawberries, or only blueberries, and it’ll still be super delicious. You can even try subbing mango for the berries, or doing a mixed fruit and adding kiwi and pineapple.
To garnish:
I reserve a lot of the berries to the top the trifle with, then also add whole strawberries with their leafy bits and I whole mint leaves, which are completely optional.
How to make this berries and cream Sara Lee cake:
Start by gently washing your berries and patting them dry so they are ready to be layered.
Cut the Sara Lee cake into cubes and place aside, ready for assembling.
Make the cream by adding all the cream ingredients into a clean bowl, and whipping on medium high speed for about 3 minutes until thickened, smooth and fluffy.
Start assembling!
Layer the bottom of a trifle dish with 1 layer of pound cake cubes, topped with half the cream, then half of the berries.
Repeat with another layer of pound cake, the remaining cream and the remaining berries. Note, if you have a deeper trifle dish, you can get away with doing 3 layers of each component, mine worked great with 2.
Garnish however you like, and keep in the fridge to chill for at least a few hours and preferably overnight.
FAQs and tips for success:
Can I use something besides Sara Lee cake?
Yes! You can use homemade pound cake, any other storebought pound cake, swiss rolls, biscuits, ladyfingers, anything you like!
Can I use something else for the cream?
If you are finding it hard to find table cream, you can instead add a package of pudding mix to the cream while mixing, it’ll give it a similar thickening effect.
You can even substitute thawed cool whip for the heavy cream/condensed milk mixture.
If you liked this recipe, you might like:
Berries and Cream Sara Lee Cake
Ingredients
- 2 containers thick cream or table cream 8 oz or 250 g each
- 1 sachet dream whip powder 1.3 oz or 28 g
- 1 sachet creme caramel, powder only (not syrup) 2 oz or 50 g
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 120 ml
- 3 tbsp milk
- 7 oz sweetened condensed milk 200 g, 1/2 large can
For assembling:
- 1 pack strawberries, halved 227 g, 8 oz
- 1 pack raspberries 6 oz, 170 g
- 1 pack blueberries 6 oz, 170 g
- 1 pack blackberries 6 oz, 170 g
- 1 Sara Lee vanilla pound cake, thawed 10.75 oz (300 g)
For garnish:
- whole strawberries
- mint leaves optional
Instructions
- In an electric mixer, add the thick cream, dream whip, creme caramel, whipping cream, and condensed milk. Beat until thick and fluffy, with soft peaks, about 3 minutes or so.
- Gently rinse the berries and pat dry, and cut the pound cake into large cubes.
- Cut the pound cake into cubes, and layer a trifle dish like so: 1 layer of pound cake cubes, half the cream, 1/2 the cream, and half the berries (a mix of all the berries). Repeat with the second half of pound cake cubes, the second half of the cream and top with the remaining berries. Add whole strawberries and mint leaves to garnish, optional.
- Let the trifle set for a few hours or overnight before enjoying!
Sometimes the fresh berries can be really sour… so what would you recommend for that ?
The tangy berries contrasts really nicely with the sweet cream- I personally like Driscolls for this! Otherwise you can try subbing frozen berries or any other fruit like mangos 😍