
My grandma used to make a mean trifle every Christmas, it was the best! Sadly I never managed to get a recipe for it. I have always wanted to try making trifle, it really is a dish that you can let your imagination run wild with. I have included a few ideas below. This is my first attempt at making one, not the prettiest, but tasted divine and was devoured quickly.
I made each component of the trifle ahead of time, cookies and cake a few days before, caramel and custard the day before. Assemble a few hours before serving. I used a 20cm trifle bowl.
I used 5 elements for this trifle:
Christmas Tree Cookies, you can find the recipe for them here.
Custard, I used the custard recipe from the basic cookbook.
Caramel, recipe below.
Sponge cake, recipe below.
Pears, fresh or tinned (I used tinned pear).

Caramel & Pear Trifle
Equipment
- Thermomix
Ingredients
Caramel
- 300 g brown Sugar
- 300 g thickened cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150 g butter
- pinch of salt
Sponge cake
- 120 g white sugar
- 4 extra large eggs at room temperature
- A pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 120 g self-raising flour
Christmas Tree Cookies
- You can find the recipe for them here.
Custard
- I used the custard recipe from the basic cookbook / cookidoo.
Pears
- Fresh or tinned (I used tinned pear).
Instructions
Caramel
- Place all the ingredients into the Thermomix bowl.
- Cook for 12 minutes on Varoma Temperature, speed 3 leaving the mc (measuring cup) off.
- Transfer into a small bowl and set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
Sponge cake
- Preheat the oven to 170 °. Spray a 20 cm pan with non-stick spray and line with baking paper.
- Insert butterfly. Put the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla into Thermomix bowl. Mix for 10 minutes on speed 4.
- Keep mixing on speed 3 and slowly add the flour through the lid.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave the cake in the oven to cool with the door slightly ajar.
- Once completely cooled, remove from cake pan. Place into a cake container or wrap in glad wrap until ready to use.
To Assemble
- Pour a layer of cooled custard into trifle bowl and smooth to level.
- Place pear, sliced thinly in a layer on top of the custard
- Top pear with some of the caramel.
- Then place the cake on top of the caramel. If necessary, slightly trim the edges cake of the cake to fit.
- Using a knife, carefully put it between the the glass and cake and slide a Christmas tree cookie into the gap.
- Put another layer of sliced pears over the top of the cake, top with caramel, then custard. Finish off with a layer of pears decoratively placed on top. Sprinkle with carob powder to garnish. Store in fridge until ready to serve.
Variations:
- Tiramisu Trifle; two sponge layers soaked in decafe with a mascarpone and cream filling in between.
- Add a failsafe jelly layer into your trifle, recipe for jelly here.
- Carob and/or white chocolate trifle. Make carob cake with layers of cream and nestle white chocolate.
- Use cheesecake mixture as a filling between layers using Philly cheese.
- If Gluten free, make your favourite GF cake to use in your trifle.
- You can also use marshmallows, honeycomb, cashews, caramelised pears, carob chips and nestle white melts. If you are after an adult version, I am sure that some Whiskey Cream Liqueur can be added in somewhere too!
- I am sure you can come up with more variations too.

This looks so delicious thank you for adding this recipe. I will be making this for Xmas day now. Merry Christmas
Fantastic! Merry Christmas Lisa.
Merry Christmas Rona