Coffee Trifle
If you’re a coffee lover, this coffee trifle is going to be your new favourite dessert.
It’s got everything you want in one bite. Light, airy sponge soaked in a coffee and fruit syrup, layered with a rich coffee custard, and finished off with a smooth chocolate ganache on top. Every spoonful gives you a bit of coffee, creamy custard and little pockets of fruit. It’s rich, it’s indulgent, and it disappears fast.
Trifle is a classic English dessert, usually made with layers of sponge, custard and fruit. My version includes coffee, so if you love coffee flavoured desserts, this one’s for you.
I’ve made this more times than I can count, and I always come back to the same method. The sponge is whipped the traditional way, no baking powder needed, which gives you that light, spongy texture that soaks up the coffee syrup beautifully without turning mushy. And the custard is made completely from scratch on the stovetop, so you get full control over how strong the coffee flavour comes through.
You’ll often see trifles served in individual cups, and you can absolutely do that here. But if you want my honest opinion, make this one in a dish and cut it into neat squares instead. It looks just as stunning, and portioning it out means you’re not tempted to go back for cup number three. This one’s addictive, so consider yourself warned.
How to Make Coffee Trifle
*(Full instructions in the recipe card below).
Make the sponge
Preheat your oven to 170C or 330F. Sift the flour and set aside.
Place the eggs and sugar in a heatproof bowl and beat for a minute to combine. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and keep beating on high for 2 to 5 minutes, until the mixture turns pale and creamy and reaches a soft peak stage, similar to whipped cream.
Take the bowl off the heat, give it one more quick whisk, then gently fold in the flour. Melt the butter with the milk and fold that in too, along with the vanilla. Fold gently the whole way through so you don’t knock the air out.
Pour the batter into a lined and floured 8 inch square pan. Drop the pan on the counter twice to release any trapped air bubbles, then bake for 25 minutes. Once it’s out of the oven, drop the pan again to stop the sponge from shrinking as it cools. Cool completely on a wire rack, then slice the cake in half horizontally.
Make the coffee custard
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Add the flour and whisk again until there are no lumps, then whisk in 1 cup of milk.
Heat the remaining cup of milk in a saucepan, don’t let it boil. Slowly pour the egg yolk mixture into the simmering milk, whisking constantly, until the custard thickens.
Take it off the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla and coffee. Set aside to cool slightly before assembling.
Assemble the trifle
Place one half of the sponge in your serving dish (or torn into pieces if you’re doing individual cups). Soak it generously with the coffee, then with the reserved fruit syrup, until well saturated.
Spread half the custard over the soaked sponge and scatter the fruit pieces on top. Place the second sponge half on top and soak it the same way, with coffee first, then fruit syrup, then the rest of the custard.
Finish with the ganache poured over the top, and scatter with dark chocolate shavings.
Recipe Tips
- If you use a store bought sponge or box cake mix, this whole trifle comes together in 15 to 20 minutes. Even made completely from scratch, it takes under an hour.
- Serve it in a dish and slice it, rather than layering in cups. It’s easier to portion out, and honestly, it stops you from going back for seconds (and thirds).
- Want a stronger coffee kick? Swap the instant coffee for a shot of espresso in the custard and syrup.
- This trifle sets better the longer it chills, so if you can, make it the night before you plan to serve it.
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Recipe
Coffee Trifle with Coffee Custard and Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
For the Sponge Cake
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup castor sugar
- ¾ cup cake flour
- 1 tbsp butter melted
- 1 tbsp milk
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- 1 canned fruit mix in syrup drained and juice reserved
For the Custard
- 2 cups milk
- 2 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp coffee
To assemble
- 1 cup coffee 1 tsp instant coffee mixed with 1 cup hot water
- 50 g dark chocolate
- 4 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
*For the sponge cake
- Preheat the oven to 170C(330F). Sift the flour. Place the eggs and sugar in a heat-resistant bowl and beat for a minute.Place the bowl in simmering hot water and keep beating on high speed for 2 to 5 mins until the mixture comes to a soft peak stage like in a whipped cream.
- Remove it from hot water, whisk it a little bit and fold the flour gently. Add the melted butter, milk and vanilla extract to the flour mix. Fold gently until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Line a 8”inch square pan, dust it with flour, pour the cake mixture and pick and drop the pan twice to release air bubbles trapped inside. Bake for 25 minutes. Once removed from the oven, pick and drop the pan again to avoid the cake shrinking and cool it on a wire rack. Cut the cake in half horizontally.
*For the custard
- Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. Add the flour and whisk to remove any lumps. Add in 1 cup of milk.
- Separately, heat the remaining cup of milk. Don’t let it boil. Add the egg yolk mixture to the simmering milk and keep on whisking till the mixture becomes custardy or thick. Remove from fire and add butter, vanilla extract and 2 tbsp coffee mixture.
*Assembling
- Place one half of cake in a serving dish,or pieces of cake if you’re serving in a cup, soak the cake with coffee and then the drained fruit syrup till you’ve covered the cake.
- Next smooth half of the custard mixture on top of the soaked cake, place the fruit pieces on top and place the other half. Soak the cake with coffee and fruit syrup then the custard.
- Melt the dark chocolate and cream in a bowl in microwave. Add the ganache on top and finish off with dark chocolate shavings.
Notes
- Use store bought sponge cake broken into pieces.
- Store in the fridge in airtight container for upto 5 days.
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If you love coffee i have a good news for you. The calorie of coffee depends on you. You can choose high or low calorie coffee. You can choose your best coffee from this coffee bar.
kiran,Arwa,Deeba,Tasmeea,Deeps thanks girls for your loveliness..
looks absolutely delecious.. perfect bday present 🙂
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Happy birthday to your beloved. Loved reading your past tales. Happy Holidays!!
This trifle looks delicious, thanks for the recipe!
I LOOOOVE Trifle! Especially berry trifle!
This looks appetising!
Love your idea of celebrating birthday with trifles. I want one. Right now 😀
BTW, thanks for visiting my blog 🙂
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com
Thanks Deeps,Yasmeen and Zee,the coffee lovers.try it out and let me know..
I love trifles! And anything with coffee in it, I am sold 🙂
Will have to try this very soon
Oh, my. This is leaving me insanely hungry at my desk! My fiance LOVES (I mean seriously loves) trifle so he'd be more than pleased if I made him this 🙂
Beautiful photographs, the trifle looks delecious.. esp since it has coffee, im gonna try it! 🙂
Priyanka,Nisa,LifenSpice and Shabs Thanks ladies for your lovely words.
Sally,I adore trifle too and you should try this one out.
Wow, thats very nice!lovely presentation!
Perfect for a loved one's Birthday. Trifle looks absolutely delicious!
I adore trifle (probably no surprise due to the custard) and the flavours in this one sound lovely.
Great way to celebrate the special day. the trifle looks absolutely delish…wish I could just dig in.
Perfect way to celebrate the special day….
The trifle looks absolutely stunning