Lemon Strawberry Trifle is a luscious dessert with gorgeous layers of lemon pudding, pound cake and fresh strawberries. It’s easy to assemble and perfect for entertaining.
I have been making this easy Lemon Strawberry Trifle for years. It’s a hit on Mother’s Day and anytime I make it. Not only does it look so pretty in a trifle dish, but it tastes delicious.
It’s an easy no bake dessert recipe using a prepared pound cake. The pudding mixture is so rich and creamy with sweetened condensed milk. The fresh strawberries bring it all together for the perfect Spring or Summer dessert.
My family also loves Lemon Trifle and Red Velvet Trifle Cups. The layers are so pretty in trifle dessert recipes.
Table of contents
Why We Love This
The flavors of the layers taste amazing. It’s a simple dessert to make but it looks stunning and tastes even better.
It isn’t overly sweet, and each bite is the best combination of berries, pudding, cake and more. You will love it!
Ingredients
- Angel food cake. You can use a prepared store bought cake. Then cut into cubes.
- Lemon pudding mix. Use instant pudding. You can also use vanilla pudding.
- Cold milk. You can use 2 cups fat-free milk or whole milk.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk. This gives the pudding mixture a decadent texture.
- Whipped Topping. Thawed and divided. You can also make Homemade Whipped Cream with heavy cream. Just whip the heavy whipping cream into peaks. You can also add vanilla extract to the whipped cream. Or use 2 cups vanilla yogurt instead of whipped topping.
- Strawberries. Rinsed, hulled and sliced 4 cups strawberries.
- Grated Lemon Zest. This elevates the flavor so don’t skip the lemon zest.
Get the complete list of ingredients at the bottom of the page.
Variations and Additions
- Cake. Other options include pound cake like Sara Lee or butter cake.
- Lemon Curd. For more lemon flavor, fold in lemon curd into the whipped cream.
- Lemon Juice. Add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to the sweetened condensed milk
- Strawberry jam. Instead of fresh strawberries, use jam.
- Strawberry Sauce. You can add a tablespoon of white grape juice to berries and use the blender to make a strawberry sauce. Or place berries in a pan and make a strawberry sauce. It’s easy to do in a small saucepan.
- Raspberries. Substitute raspberries instead of strawberries or combine both together.
Step By Step Instructions
Step 1. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pudding mixes, milk, lemon zest and sweetened condensed milk until combined and smooth. I used a hand mixer.
Step 2. Carefully fold in half of the whipped topping into the pudding mixture. Make sure to save the other half of the topping.
Step 3. Combine until smooth.
Step 4. To assemble the trifle, alternate an even layer of cake cut into bite size pieces.
Step 5. Drizzle the pudding mixture, half of the sliced strawberries and so on, until you get the top of the trifle bowl.
Step 6. Add the remaining cake, pudding mixture, half of the strawberry sauce and so on, until for the last layer. Top with the remaining whipped topping, additional layer of strawberries and remaining lemon zest.
- Step 7. Finally, cover the trifle dish and refrigerate. It will last at least 2 hours before serving in the fridge.
Storage
This trifle is best served the day that it is assembled or within 1-2 days of assembling.
The cake and strawberries will get very soft as it sits. The strawberry juices will soak into the cake.
Expert Tips
- Cake Slices. Use the end slices of the cake to fill the middle and save the prettier slices for the outside layer.
- Topping. I like to add additional strawberries on top.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk. Don’t skip the sweetened condensed milk. It makes a big difference in the taste and texture of the dessert.
- Slice the cake evenly. Try to cut the prepared angel food cake into the same size cubes. This will make the layers uniform.
- Use a trifle dish. While you can prepare this dessert in a bowl, it is so much prettier in a clear dish. The layers look so pretty.
- Serve with a sturdy serving spoon. You need to be able to scoop all the layers easily.
More Easy Lemon Desserts
Make this easy Lemon Strawberry Trifle recipe for the best dessert. Once you try it, come back and leave a 5-star review. It will make my day!
Lemon Strawberry Trifle
Ingredients
- 1 angel food cake cut into cubes approximately 12 ounces
- 2 3.4 ounces boxes instant lemon pudding mix
- 2 cups cold milk
- 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk 14 ounces
- 16 ounces Whipped Topping thawed and divided
- 2 pints strawberries rinsed hulled and sliced
- 2 teaspoons Grated Lemon Zest divided
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the pudding mixes, milk, 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and sweetened condensed milk until combined and smooth.
- Gently stir in half of the whipped topping into the pudding mixture (save the other half of the topping) until smooth and no white streaks remain.
- To assemble the trifle, alternate layers of angel food cake, the pudding mixture, strawberries and so on, until you get the top.
- To assemble the trifle, alternate layers of angel food cake, the pudding mixture, strawberries and so on, until you get the top.
- Top with the remaining whipped topping, sliced strawberries and remaining lemon zest.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Then the trifle is ready to serve and enjoy!
So easy to make and looks really pretty. It tastes great too!!!