Gluten-Free Trifle with Lemon & Raspberry

This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosures.

This Gluten-Free Trifle with Lemon and Raspberry is a family favourite. Homemade gluten-free trifle sponge is drizzled with limoncello, cosseted by a thick blanket of easy raspberry curd and topped with dreamy lemon custard and clouds of double cream. A crunch of toasted almonds and fresh raspberries are scattered to finish.

Jump to:

• What is a trifle
• Nigel Slater inspired trifle
• Why you’ll love this recipe
• Gluten-free trifle sponge recipe
• Ingredients needed
• Step-by-step instructions
• Trifle bowl requirements
• Trifle bowl I love!!
• Make in advance
• Guide to prepping your trifle over 3 days
• How to store
• How to freeze
• Serving suggestions 
• More family favourite gluten-free desserts you’ll love! 
• Gluten-Free Trifle with Lemon and Raspberry

The Gluten-Free Trifle is non-negotiable in our family when we all get together. In fact Christmas might as well be cancelled if it isn’t produced at some point during the festivities. I have been making a version of this trifle since the dessert baton was passed to me by my grandmother and it really doesn’t get any better than a homemade gluten-free trifle sponge, tangy raspberry curd, a zesty lemon custard and clouds of billowing cream.

What is a trifle

A trifle is a layered dessert. Often with layers of alcohol soaked sponge, fruit, custard and cream. The variations on how each layer is produced is endless.

Both of my grandmothers made trifles for the family over Christmas and they could not have been more different.

Nanny Ol made hers with shop bought trifle sponges, no alcohol, but a tin of canned raspberry filling, thick birds custard and stiff cream.

Nanny Daphne made hers with homemade sponge, sodden with a bottle of sherry, fruit cocktail suspended in jelly, a wobbly homemade custard and a soft cream topping.

So different but both so delicious.

Nigel Slater inspired trifle

This trifle which I have been making for my own family Christmas for many years now takes major inspiration from Nigel Slater’s Lemon Trifle from his Kitchen Diaries cookbook. (my love for his recipe knows no bounds). I have mercilessly cribbed the bits I love best from it, namely the use of limoncello as the alcohol soak for the bottom layer of sponge and his idea of a fruit curd for the fruit base. He uses lemon, but here I have used a very easy homemade raspberry curd. Then I paid direct homage to his no-egg lemon custard, which is made from only double cream, caster sugar and lemon juice, to ladle on top of the curd.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Incredible flavour full of fruity raspberries and tangy lemon, spiked with a lovely hit of limoncello.
• Gorgeous textures, from the soft fluffy sponge to the smooth velvety curd, a luscious creamy custard and a final cloud of pillowy cream.
• Easy peasy homemade gluten-free trifle sponge recipe with no xanthan gum.
• Foolproof custard which requires no eggs but merely boiling cream and adding fresh lemon juice and sugar.
• An involved recipe with several stages which you can easily break down into manageable tasks over a couple of days so that it seems quick and easy.
• Enough to generously feed a gleeful crowd.

Gluten-free trifle sponge recipe

This homemade gluten-free sponge is incredibly quick and easy to bake. It is a lovely thick vanilla sponge with bounce but also a great structure which it important as it has to soak up rather a lot of limoncello without dissolving into a pile of sog.

The sponge is super easy to make with your favourite gluten-free flour blend, ground almonds and no xanthan gum.

To create the individual trifle sponges you need to bake the cake in one 8 inch layer and then once cooled cut into the sponge with a round cookie /biscuit cutter and position at the bottom of the trifle bowl.

Ingredients needed

Gluten-free trifle sponge

• Caster sugar. A fine white baking sugar. You can use granulated.
• Butter. Use unsalted at room temperature.
• Eggs. This recipe uses 3 medium sized eggs, about 60g each.
• Gluten-free plain flour. I use Doves Farm Gluten-Free Plain White Flour which has no xanthan gum. Your favourite brand of gluten-free flour is fine to use.
• Ground almonds. This helps to support the structure of the trifle sponge. Using shop bought ready ground almonds or even almond flour is fine.
• Lemon zest. Make sure your lemons are unwaxed.
• Vanilla extract. You don’t need the best quality here. A good supermarket version will do.
• Baking powder. For rise and a tender crumb.
• Salt. To elevate all our flavours.
• Limoncello. A gorgeous Italian lemon liqueur for drizzling over the baked sponge.

Raspberry curd

• Raspberries. Fresh or frozen raspberries work equally well.
• Lemon juice. Fresh lemon juice is best (use the lemon you needed for the lemon zest in the sponge)
• Caster sugar. A fine white baking sugar. You can use granulated sugar.
• Butter. Use unsalted at room temperature.
• Eggs. This curd recipe uses 3 medium sized eggs, about 60g each.

Lemon custard

• Double cream. Or heavy cream
• Lemon juice. You need the juice of 3-4 juicy lemons.
• Caster sugar. A fine white baking sugar. You can use granulated sugar.

Dreamy creamy topping

• Double cream. You can use heavy cream or whipping cream which gives a lighter finish.
• Flaked almonds. They give a lovely toasty crunch to the topping.
• Raspberries. If you can’t get hold of fresh raspberries then you can omit.

Step-by-step instructions

For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post. 

Gluten-Free Trifle Sponges

• Beat sugar with butter for a couple of minutes.
• Add the eggs followed by the vanilla extract.
• In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, almonds, baking powder and salt then beat into the rest of the ingredients.
• Bake for 30 minutes.
• Once cool, cut the sponge into circles then assemble into the bottom of the trifle bowl. Spoon the limoncello over the top.

Tips

• Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature so the sponge is light and fluffy.
• Use a 7cm round cookie cutter to cut your trifle sponges.

How to make the raspberry curd

• Heat the raspberries with a splash of water until soft. Strain, keeping the juice for the curd and discard the seeds.
• Whisk the strained raspberry juice, lemon juice, caster sugar and butter in a saucepan whilst bringing to a low boil.
• Remove from the heat then pour into the eggs in a slow stream until combined.
• Pour the curd back into the saucepan and bring to a boil, still whisking all the time until thick.
• Remove from the heat and pour over the limoncello soaked sponges. Chill the trifle bowl in the fridge until the curd has set (4 -8 hours).

Tips

• For a really pronounced colour to your raspberry curd you can add 2 tablespoons raspberry powder along with the raspberry juice which really punches up the colour (and the flavour!)
• To avoid the eggs scrambling when you pour in the hot raspberry mixture make sure you pour a splash of the raspberries into the beaten eggs and whisk well to temper the eggs then pour the rest of the raspberry mixture in a single steam whisking all the time.
• I recommend straining the curd before you pour over the trifle sponges to guarantee a really smooth curd.

How to make the lemon custard

• Bring the double cream and the sugar to a gentle simmer for a couple of minutes.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
• Take the trifle bowl out of the fridge and pour the lemon custard over the set raspberry curd layer and place the trifle bowl back in the fridge for the custard to set (4-8 hours)

How to whip the cream

• Whip the cream until thick then spoon over the set custard.

Tip. You want the cream to be thick and pillowy. Cream seems to take ages to thicken as you whip, until it doesn’t and then you have overwhipped. Keep a close eye and if you are whipping with electric beaters make sure you stop beating early and finish off manually to ensure the right consistency.

Trifle bowl requirements

You need to assemble the trifle in a large serving bowl, preferably glass so you can see all the delicious layers. Also preferably with straight sides so you can get an even distribution of all the layers within each serving.

I spent quite a few years making do without a trifle bowl and just using a large glass bowl but believe me an actual trifle bowl is well worth the investment to achieve an even layered trifle. And not least because I guarantee you will not be making trifle a mere once.

A traditional trifle bowl is 8 inches (20cm) wide and 4 inches deep.

Trifle bowl I love!!

Trifle Bowl

Buy Now →

Make in advance

Making the trifle all at once is perfectly possible if you start it first thing in the morning as there is a lot of layers to set. However, it works even better if you break each job up into pockets of time so it is not an overwhelming task.

Guide to prepping your trifle over 3 days

• Day 1. Make the gluten-free trifle sponge. Once cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature.
• Day 2 a.m. Layer the trifle sponge into the bowl and drizzle with the limoncello. Make the raspberry curd and pour over the trifle sponge. Place in the fridge to set.
• Day 2.p.m Make the lemon custard and pour over the raspberry curd. Place in the fridge to set overnight. Also at this point toast the almonds so they are cool for scattering.
• Day 3. Whip the cream and spoon over the set custard. Sprinkle on the flaked almonds and dot over the raspberries. Serve straightaway or store in the fridge until ready to be served.

For even speedier assembly you could even make the trifle sponge up to 2 months ahead and freeze as a single layer cake. Double wrap in plastic wrap and aluminium foil to preserve well. Defrost at room temperature before unwrapping.

Serving suggestions 

Trifle is delicious served just as it is as really it has everything you could possibly need within its layers. However, there is no accounting for my mum who also drizzles hers with cold single cream. And why not.

More family favourite gluten-free desserts you’ll love! 

• Apple and Blackberry Crumble
• Plum Nectarine Cobbler
• Bread and Butter Pudding
• Spotted Dick
• Bramley Apple Mincemeat Pudding
• Raspberry Pudding

I urge you to give this Gluten-Free Trifle with Lemon & Raspberry a try. If you do then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own culinary creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.