Roll up, roll up! I’m delighted to share with you: my ULTIMATE cheat’s gluten free trifle recipe. I promise you that it’s so easy to make that you’ll almost feel like you’re cheating when you’re making it!
You just can’t beat a good trifle can you? But you can eat a good trifle – especially when it’s gluten free and only needs 5 simple ingredients! See what I did there? Ok sorry – let’s talk about my gluten free trifle recipe…
It’s pretty sad to say, but I haven’t had a trifle in YEARS. Like, I don’t even remember the last time… probably when M&S used to sell a gluten free trifle, actually!
Don’t rush over there, I’m 99.9% sure it was discontinued yeeeeeears ago!
Hello, present year 2023 Becky here suddenly, laughing at how I wrote that last sentence FOUR years ago; to this day, I still miss that same M&S trifle even though it probably hasn’t been sold in more than half a decade 😂 Anyway, onwards with what I originally wrote in this post when it was first posted in 2019, though I am gonna add some more helpful information/sections and update the product links which have now died while I’m here!
And you know what? The gluten free trifle shortage ends now! And I’m just gonna let you know now that you have two options here:
- Make this trifle and share it with your muggle friends/family because nobody would EVER know that this is gluten free.
- Let everyone else eat their inferior shop-bought trifle whilst you enjoy this absolute beast for days on end because ‘gluten free food isn’t as good as normal food’ 🙄
The choice is yours! Here’s the simple supermarket ingredients/products you’ll need to make it happen…
Gluten-free Trifle Recipe: What you’ll need…
- Ready-made gluten-free sponge cake: I use a 180g packet of Mrs Crimbles gluten-free madeleines from the free from aisle in Tesco, but any equivalent amount of gluten-free plain/vanilla cupcakes (broken into smaller chunks) will do too. The link above is for Tesco, but you’ll also find them in Waitrose or Co-op too – you can get them on Amazon but only in very large quantities sadly!
- Packet of strawberry or raspberry jelly: I used a block of Hartley’s Strawberry jelly (135g) which you can find in all supermarkets.
- Fresh strawberries and raspberries: I used fresh strawberries and raspberries. Any leftovers can be sliced and used to top the trifle like I did in the photos.
- Fresh custard: I just use a bog-standard fresh custard that you can find with all the other dairy products or with the fresh desserts. Most are thickened with cornflour so should be gluten-free, but it doesn’t hurt to check first. You might need more than one depending on how big your trifle dish is. Dairy-free custard works well too.
- Double cream: Yep, just a standard double cream that you’ll find near the milk. Don’t try and use single cream because it won’t whip!
So what’s my gluten-free trifle like?
Well, the bottom layer are gluten-free madeleines and fresh raspberries in a set strawberry jelly. Then you’ve got a layer of sliced strawberries use to hide the fact that I clearly love an unbelievably thick custard layer!
(when I was a kid, I used to steal extra custard when serving up my bowl… then everyone else used to complain about the lack of custard! oops!)
Last but not least is whipped double cream and more freshly sliced strawberries. Simple, but so, so, so good. It tastes like the shop-bought trifles I used to enjoy before being gluten-free – just a million miles better!
Believe it or not, I used to pick all of the fruit out the jelly when I was a kid… did anyone else used to do that?! I certainly don’t now! Also, I can’t emphasise just how easy it is to pull off my gluten free trifle recipe – hence why I’ve nicknamed it a cheat’s trifle.
In the past, I’ve made a trifle by making my own custard from scratch, cooking down berries and adding gelatine to make my own homemade jelly, baking my gluten free Madeira for the sponge… AND IT TOOK HOURS.
(if there’s any trifle purists out there, let me know if you want that recipe too!)
So for this recipe, I decided that… that is probably the reason I haven’t had a trifle in so many years!! Don’t get me wrong, it’s sometimes great to create a trifle completely from scratch, but sometimes… you just want to eat a trifle ASAP!
Gluten-free recipe: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this recipe gluten-free? Is it suitable for Coeliacs?
It is gluten-free, though nobody would know just by tasting it – trust me!
Bear in mind that minimising cross-contamination is hugely important if you’re Coeliac or making this for someone who is. Here’s some tips from Coeliac UK on minimising the risk of cross contamination:
Also, make sure that all ingredients used don’t have any gluten-containing ingredients. Then make sure that they also don’t have a ‘may contain’ warning for gluten, wheat, rye, barley, oats (which aren’t gf), spelt and khorasan wheat (aka Kamut).
Here’s some more info from Coeliac UK on identifying safe gluten-free products.
Can I make your gluten-free trifle recipe dairy free?
Of course you can – you just need the right products! Since this recipe is only 5 ingredients, I’ll go over each one here:
- Ready-made gluten-free sponge cake: The Mrs Crimbles gluten-free madeleines have no dairy-containing ingredients but have a ‘may contain’ warning for milk, meaning they’re not dairy-free. I couldn’t find any easy equivalent dairy-free substitute so it’s probably easier to make your own sponge using my Victoria sponge recipe (make one sponge only and use dairy-free ingredients) or using a product like this.
- Packet of strawberry or raspberry jelly: No change here, this is dairy-free!
- Handful of fresh berries: As above!
- Fresh custard: Mark’s favourite dairy-free custard has always been Alpro’s vanilla soya custard, so I’d recommend you use this too. It’s always lovely and thick, so perfect for a trifle.
- Double cream: In this past, this wasn’t always an easy swap, but thanks to Elmlea’s Plant Double Cream, it’s simple. It whips just like real double cream and tastes great!
Can I make your gluten-free trifle recipe vegan?
Follow the instructions above to make this recipe dairy-free BUT you’ll need gluten-free and vegan sponge cake. You’ll likely have no other choice than to make my Victoria sponge recipe vegan (make one sponge only) using the egg replacer suggestions in the FAQ section of that post.
Then all you’ve got left to contend with is the jelly (it contains pork gelatine). Fortunately, you can just use a product like this instead. Of course, I haven’t tested this but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!
Can I make this low FODMAP?
This recipe uses a lot of convenience products that aren’t low FODMAP certified and double cream (high in lactose) so sadly this recipe isn’t suitable for the elimination phase of the low FODMAP diet.
Which trifle dish did you use? And what size?
I used a simple trifle dish I bought in Tesco, but as this recipe was first posted in 2019, they don’t stock it anymore. It isn’t that big and it certainly wasn’t very expensive at all!
It’s around 20cm in size and not all that tall, much like this one from John Lewis. This is the only one I could find that’s similar in size and also doesn’t break the bank, though I’m pretty sure mine was about half the price!
Which products did you use?
I already linked them in the ‘what you’ll need‘ section above ☝🏻
My Cheat’s Gluten Free Trifle Recipe (super easy method)
Ingredients
- 180 g Mrs Crimbles gluten-free madeleines (linked above) or equivalent amount of gluten-free plain/vanilla sponge cake
- 135 g block of strawberry or raspberry jelly (linked above)
- 2 handfuls fresh strawberries and raspberries plus extra (sliced) for the top
- 500-750 g fresh custard ensure gluten-free, amount will vary depending on the size of your trifle dish
- 300 ml double cream
Instructions
- Firstly make your jelly as per the packet instructions in a jug (for me this was separating into cubes and then pouring boiling water followed by cold water onto it)
- Get your trifle dish and cut your sponges into pieces (halves or thirds is fine). Place them all over the bottom of your dish in a nice layer. Then place any fruit in between the gaps of the sponges and some on top if you wish.
- Pour your jelly liquid on top of the sponge and fruit to cover it and leave in the fridge to completely set. Setting jelly usually takes about 2-3 hours, but just check it every now and then and you’ll know!
- Once the jelly has set, slice your strawberries in half and place them on top of the jelly all around the sides of your dish as per the picture. Try and get them all as even as you can for the best effect.
- Pour your custard onto the jelly, going up the dish as high as you want it to go, I like a lot of custard! Just remember you still need to add the cream so leave some space. You can make your own custard but shop bought is always very yummy and easy too.
- Whip up your double cream in a large mixing bowl till it forms stiff peaks, make sure not to over whip. (You can add a couple of tbsp of icing sugar to your cream for a little sweetness, but there is plenty of that throughout the trifle anyway!)
- Spoon the whipped cream on top of the custard.
- Finish with some slices of fresh strawberries when you are ready to serve. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Thanks for reading all about my gluten-free trifle recipe! If you make it, I’d love to see how it turned out so don’t forget to take a snap of your creations and tag me on Instagram!
Any questions about the recipe? Please do let me know by following me on Instagram and leaving me a comment on a recent photo!
Thanks for reading,
Becky xxx
Oh and don’t forget to pin this for later!
