Lemon Raspberry Trifle turns a pound cake, lemon pudding, and fresh fruit into a beautifully layered summer dessert. Easy to make in minutes, this sweet and tangy dessert delivers a burst of berries and lots of lemon flavor in every bite.
Lemon Raspberry Trifle Dessert
Our easy Lemon Raspberry Trifle recipe takes all the sweet and tart flavors found in my Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes, Raspberry Lasagna, and Frozen Raspberry Lemonade and transforms them into a creamy, cool, fruity dessert full of light and fluffy layers.
This lemon berry trifle is made like a no bake dessert lasagna, with layers of cake cubes, followed by lemon filling, and then covered with both fresh berries and a raspberry jam mixture, all stacked until it reaches the top of the trifle dish.
What I love most about raspberry lemon trifle recipes is that they are packed with the perfect pairing of lip-puckering flavors – the sweet and tangy stackable layers form a stunning summer dessert!
Why We Love Lemon Raspberry Trifle Recipes
- Quick and easy to make in minutes.
- Uses a handful of simple ingredients.
- Light and refreshing treat that’s cool for summertime snacking but can be enjoyed during any season.
- Delicious no bake dessert is a beautiful display of different tastes and textures, all layered in a large glass bowl.
- Perfectly portable for holiday parties, potlucks, or any time you are feeding a crowd.
Lemon Raspberry Trifle Ingredients
- Instant lemon pudding mix
- Whole milk
- Seedless raspberry jam or preserves: I used Smucker’s brand but feel free to use your favorite.
- Fresh squeezed lemon juice
- Fresh lemon zest
- Whipped topping or Cool Whip: Feel free to make your own homemade whipped cream.
- Pound cake: I used a store bought Sara Lee pound cake to create my cubes but you can use your favorite fresh or frozen kind of cake.
- Fresh raspberries
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Additions
- Switch The Cake Squares: Feel free to uses cubes of lemon pound cake or angel food cake instead of plain pound cake. You can also bake your own lemon cake, lemon bundt cake, or 7Up pound cake from scratch.
- Pick Your Pudding: If you are unable to find the lemon flavored instant pudding, you can substitute it with vanilla, cheesecake, or white chocolate pudding instead.
- Make Them Mini: I don’t blame you if you don’t want to share your trifle treat! For individual trifles, swap the trifle dish for mason jars and make them mini-size (like my S’mores Trifle).
- Swap The Spread: If you love lemons like I do, you can swap the raspberry jam with my lemon curd spread!
How to Make Lemon Raspberry Trifle
- Prepare The Pudding: Whisk together the pudding and milk until it starts to thicken. Chill in the fridge for 5 minutes to firm up slightly, then fold in the lemon zest and cool whip.
- Make The Jam Mixture: Whisk together the raspberry jam and lemon juice until the jam is loose and easily spreadable. Set aside.
- Assemble: Place cubes of pound cake into the bottom of the trifle bowl and cover it with the pudding mixture. Arrange the raspberries in a circle around the outer edge of the bowl, and spread the jam in the middle over the pudding layer.
- Repeat: Top the raspberry layer with the remaining pound cake cubes, followed by the remaining pudding mixture.
- Decorate The Dessert: Garnish with cool whip, fresh raspberries, and lemon zest. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the pudding layer to set-up completely before serving.
- Serve: Serve and enjoy chilled.
Tips For Making The Best Lemon Trifle
- When adding each layer to your trifle bowl, be careful around the outer edges to keep the pudding, raspberry, and pound cake layers nice and neat. This will ensure that you have a beautiful layered presentation when you are looking at the outside of the bowl.
- When using the zest and juice of a fresh lemon, be sure to rinse it with cool water and wipe dry with a paper towel to remove any waxy residue from the outer skin.
- It is easier to zest a whole lemon so I suggest that you zest the lemon first before slicing in half to then squeeze for the fresh juice to use in the recipe.
- If you bake your own cake, allow time for it to cool off before assembling the trifle.
- My trifle bowl was 3 quarts. You may end up with extra cake cubes, depending on the size of your trifle bowl.
How to Store Lemon Raspberry Trifle
- To Store: This trifle is best served chilled. It can be refrigerated and lightly covered with plastic wrap for up to 3 days. Please note that the longer this sits, the softer the pound cake will become from the moisture in the pudding layers.
- To Freeze: This is not a dessert suited for freezing. It is best to make and serve the same day.
More Easy Trifle Recipes
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Lemon Raspberry Trifle
Serves — 12
Lemon Raspberry Trifle is light, refreshing, and super easy to make! Perfect dessert for summer when fresh berries are in season.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Chill Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 6.8 ounces (2 3.4 ounce boxes) instant lemon flavored pudding
- 3 cups whole milk very cold
- ¾ cup seedless raspberry jam or preserves Smucker’s brand
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest plus more for garnish
- 8 ounces cool whip whipped topping thawed, divided (4 ounces folded into the lemon pudding and 4 ounces to garnish)
- 16 ounce premade pound cake thawed if from frozen, cut into 1 inch sized cubes (Sara Lee brand)
- 1½ – 2 cups fresh raspberries divided (for decorative layer in trifle and garnish)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the instant lemon pudding and whole milk for 3 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Place the bowl into the refrigerator to chill for 5 minutes to allow the pudding to firm up slightly.6.8 ounces (2 3.4 ounce boxes) instant lemon flavored pudding, 3 cups whole milk
- In a small bowl whisk together the seedless raspberry jam and fresh lemon juice until the raspberry jam is loose and easily spreadable. Set aside.¾ cup seedless raspberry jam or preserves, 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- Remove the bowl of chilled lemon pudding from the refrigerator. Fold in the fresh lemon zest and 4 ounces of the thawed cool whip whipped topping until smooth and no white streaks remain from the cool whip.1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest, 8 ounces cool whip whipped topping
- To a large (approximately 3 quart capacity) trifle bowl, add half of the cubed pound cake in a layer in the bottom of the bowl.16 ounce premade pound cake
- Next, add half the lemon pudding mixture and gently spread it into an even layer to cover the poundcake.
- Carefully place fresh raspberries in a circle around the outer edge of the trifle bowl, on top of the lemon pudding layer, to form a decorative layer. I like to make sure that they are all placed with the bottom side up for consistency. You will use approximately 1- 1 ½ cups of fresh raspberries. It will depend on the size of your berries as to how much you will need to use for this step. The remaining raspberries will be used to top the trifle as a garnish.1½ – 2 cups fresh raspberries
- To the center of the ring of fresh raspberries in the bowl, spoon the seedless raspberry jam mixture. Gently spread to cover the lemon pudding layer. Be careful not to mix the layers as you spread the jam.
- Top the raspberry layer with the remaining pound cake cubes, followed by the remaining lemon pudding spread to an even layer.
- Garnish the lemon raspberry trifle with the remaining 4 ounces cool whip whipped topping. Do not spread it all the way to the edge of the bowl, but leave about ½ inch of the lemon pudding exposed. Pile the remaining fresh raspberries to the center of the cool whip and sprinkle the top of the berries and cool whip with additional fresh lemon zest.
- Refrigerate the lemon raspberry trifle for at least 2 hours to allow the pudding layer to set-up completely before serving.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
- To Store: This lemon raspberry trifle is best served chilled. It can be refrigerated, lightly covered with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days. Please note that the longer this sits, the softer the pound cake will become from the moisture in the pudding layers.
- To Freeze: This is not a dessert suited for freezing. It is best to make and serve the same day.
- When adding each layer to your trifle bowl, be careful around the outer edges to keep the pudding, raspberry, and pound cake layers nice and neat. This will ensure that you have a beautiful layered presentation when you are looking at the outside of the bowl.
- When using the zest and juice of a fresh lemon, be sure to rinse it with cool water and wipe dry with a paper towel to remove any waxy residue from the outer skin.
- It is easier to zest a whole lemon so I suggest that you zest the lemon first before slicing in half to then squeeze for the fresh juice to use in the recipe.
- If you bake your own cake, allow time for it to cool off before assembling the trifle.
- My trifle bowl was 3 quarts. You may end up with extra cake cubes, depending on the size of your trifle bowl.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 314kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 361mg | Potassium: 189mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 176IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 124mg | Iron: 1mg
