Simple Lemon Berry Vegan Trifle Recipe (Gluten Free)
Easy lemon berry vegan trifle with layers of zesty eggless lemon custard, deliciously sweet vanilla pound cake, and fresh berries and coconut whipped cream for the ultimate chilled dessert that’s perfect at any summer party! Naturally gluten free, dairy free, eggless, and even refined sugar free!
Your new favorite vegan trifle recipe:
If you’re looking for a good vegan dessert to bring to your Fourth of July celebration or backyard summer party, then this vegan trifle is it! Fresh lemon berry trifle with all of the sweet notes of summer layered in the perfect chilled dessert for a cooling summer treat.
This lemon berry trifle is full of zest and tang in the custard with sweet notes of vanilla from the vegan pound cake, and kept fresh with sliced mixed berries and coconut whipped cream. It’s the ultimate summer dessert that looks elegant and is surprisingly easy to make!
You’ll absolutely love this twist on the classic English dessert, whether or not you’re vegan!
What are the layers of trifle?
Traditionally, a trifle consists of:
- Pound or sponge cake
- Berries
- Custard
- Whipped cream
Trifles are a wonderful dessert that originated in England in the 1700’s. They’re very diverse in that you can really customize a trifle to fit your taste preferences and needs. Use your favorite berries or fruit, flavor the custard as you’d like, and you can even switch out the pound cake with chocolate sponge cake or more!
For our purposes, this trifle will be entirely vegan. This means that the cake, custard, and whipped cream will be entirely dairy free, eggless, and containing no animal products whatsoever. Additionally, this vegan trifle recipe is also naturally gluten free and easily made refined sugar free!
How to make vegan trifle
For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.
If this is your first time making vegan trifle, or even a trifle in general (kudos to you for choosing the vegan version!), then you’re in for a treat.
I actually find that the vegan version is much easier, especially with the custard, as there’s less of a need for a more experienced baker since there are no eggs nor dairy.
You’ll first start by making the lemon custard, followed by the pound cake, and the coconut whipped cream.
I recommend making the custard in morning, the pound cake midday/early afternoon, and assembling everything the late afternoon. This gives the custard time to thicken in the fridge and ensures that your pound cake is fully cool (which will prevent any melting of the coconut whipped cream!).
Assembling a vegan trifle
Now that you’ve made all of the components to a vegan trifle, it’s time to assemble (the best part!).
How I assembled this vegan trifle is the following:
- Cake
- Berries
- Custard
Repeat!
Then we finally top the entire trifle with the coconut whipped cream and more fresh berries. Now you’re ready to serve your trifle!
What can I use to thicken my custard?
For the custard filling, I recommend using cornstarch or arrowroot starch (sometimes called arrowroot powder). Both can be used interchangeably and are a great way to thicken custards without adding eggs.
The amount you use in your liquid mixture matters, though. A little cornstarch will yield a thick yet runny mixture (more like English cream used as a fruit or cake topping). More cornstarch will yield a thick custard or pudding.
Can trifle be made a day ahead?
You can absolutely make trifle a day ahead of time. Especially with this recipe, if you make it the evening before, the lemon custard will also help to enhance the vanilla flavor of the sponge cake, and yield just the most lovely and soft, melt-in-your-mouth-texture.
I would recommend making the pound cake the day before and assembling the trifle in the evening. Then cover and store your trifle in the fridge until the next day, when you’re ready to serve.
This lemon berry vegan trifle is perfect for:
- Fourth of July
- Memorial Day
- Baby showers
- Graduations
- Summer barbecues and parties
- Tea parties
- Birthdays
- And more!
I just know you’re going to absolutely love this vegan trifle. It’s deliciously sweet and so incredibly easy to make and assemble.
If you make this lemon berry trifle, be sure to tag us on Instagram and Pinterest, so that we can see your beautiful creations!
Happy trifle making!
More vegan summer desserts you’ll love:
Raw Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake
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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
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Simple Lemon Berry Vegan Trifle Recipe (Gluten Free)
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 55
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 20 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: British
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Easy lemon berry vegan trifle with layers of zesty eggless lemon custard, deliciously sweet vanilla pound cake, and fresh berries and coconut whipped cream for the ultimate chilled dessert that’s perfect at any summer party! Naturally gluten free, dairy free, eggless, and even refined sugar free!
Ingredients
Vegan Lemon Custard:
- 500 mL unsweetened vanilla oat milk
- 1/2 cup (90 grams) granulated sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice + 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp vanilla powder (optional but recommended for vanilla bean flecks)
- 1/3 cup (50 grams) cornstarch or arrowroot starch + water
Vegan Vanilla Pound Cake:
- 1/2 cups (130 grams) unsweetened dairy free milk, room temperature
- 2/3 tsp apple cider vinegar (to be mixed with dairy free milk milk)
- 3 1/3 cups (300 grams) gluten-free rolled oats* see note for store bought oat flour measurement
- 1 1/3 tsp baking powder
- 2/3 tbsp arrowroot starch or cornstarch
- 2/3 tsp baking soda
- 2/3 cup (130 grams) granulated coconut sugar or regular sugar
- 1/3 cup (75 grams) salted vegan butter (I recommend Flora Plant butter), room temperature
- 1/2 cup (130 grams) unsweetened applesauce, room temperature
- 1 1/3 tbsp vanilla extract (yes, 2 full tablespoons!) or 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract + 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
Berries + Coconut Whipped Cream:
- 1 batch homemade or store-bought vegan coconut whipped cream
- 3 cups fresh sliced strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries
Instructions
- Please read through the entire instructions before beginning. You’ll make the lemon custard first. Then the pound cake, followed by the coconut whipped cream. Measure out the ingredients for the lemon custard.
- Make the lemon custard: in a medium pot, bring the oat milk, sugar, lemon, and vanilla extract/powder to a boil, whisking together until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to a simmer. While the mixture is simmering, add the cornstarch to a separate small ramekin. Add in 1-2 tbsp until you create a paste. Add the paste to the lemon mixture, and whisk gently until the cornstarch dissolves. Keep whisking on low heat until the mixture begins to thicken, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and pour the custard into a bowl. Allow the custard to cool for 10 minutes, then place the custard in the fridge to cool for 2 hours.
- Make the vanilla pound cake: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9″ loaf pan with cooking oil, and line with parchment paper. Set aside. Measure out all ingredients before beginning. Prepare the oat flour: pulse the oats in a high speed blender or food processor until they reach a fine flour. Please see this post on how to make oat flour for all the tips and tricks. Prepare the vegan buttermilk. Combine the dairy free milk with the apple cider vinegar, and set aside to sit for 5-6 minutes. You can weigh and measure the remaining ingredients during this time.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, arrowroot starch, and baking soda. Set aside.
- Make the batter: In a stand mixer with paddle attachment or a large bowl with hand mixer, cream together the vegan butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides as needed. Then add in the applesauce and vanilla extract. Mix again on medium speed until combined, scraping down the sides and at the bottom of the bowl as needed. Add in about half of the dry mixture, along with half of the vegan buttermilk, and mix on medium speed until just combined. Add in the remaining dry mixture and vegan buttermilk, and mix on medium speed until there are just no more dry streaks. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl as well as the sides.
- Bake the cakes: Pour the batter into the loaf pan, and bake for 55 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow the pourd cake to cool in its pans for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cooled completely (there is absolutely no warmth to the touch!), slice the pound cake into cubes.
- Make the coconut whipped cream. Follow the directions for making the coconut whipped cream.
- Assemble the trifle: start with about 1/3 of the cubed pound cake and place it on the bottom of the trifle dish. Then layer with berries and 1/3 of the lemon custard. Repeat, creating layers of pound cake, berries, and custard. Finish the top of the trifle with coconut whipped cream and berries and serve!
- Store in covered in the fridge until ready to serve.
Can the cake be made ahead and frozen? I would like to make this for Christmas, but won’t have time to do all the work the day before.
Yes absolutely! You’ll have to allow it to thaw before assembling, just a few hours at room temperature still covered (I worry that any ice might leak into the whipped cream and make the whipped cream go bad!). But you can absolutely make the cake ahead!