Go Back
Put mini gingerbread men around the edges of a glass bowl for a pretty gingerbread trifle

Gingerbread Trifle

An easy to make trifle that's great for using up Christmas leftovers and makes a stunning party dessert
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Chilling time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 12
Course: Dessert
Ingredients Equipment Method Video Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 small ginger loaf cake (around 250g)
  • 1 435g tin chopped pineapple, 260g drained reserve the juice if making an non-alcoholic trifle
  • 3-5 balls of stem ginger from a jar
  • 5 tbsp syrup from the stem ginger jar or use Malibu for an alcoholic version
  • 10-15 mini gingerbread men supermarket biscuits are fine
  • 250 g mascarpone
  • 500 g brandy sauce or custard
  • 300 ml double cream
  • sprinkles to decorate

Equipment

  • Glass trifle bowl
  • Electric or balloon whisk

Method
 

  1. Chop the ginger cake into rough chunks about 3-5 cm in size and put them in the bottom of a large glass serving dish or trifle bowl. You don't need to be too precise here as the cake is going to be soaked in liquid eventually. As long as you have chunks not crumbs it will work. 
    Drain the pineapple chunks, reserving the liquid, and scatter these on top of the cake. 
    Finely chop the stem ginger and sprinkle over the cake and fruit.
  2. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the syrup from the jar of ginger over the fruit and cake, then pour over the gingerbread syrup or Malibu. You could also substitute some of the reserved juice from the pineapple can if you prefer a more fruity flavour. Don't overdo it though. You want moist, not slushy! 
  3. Lay the gingerbread men around the sides of the bowl, face out. they will show through the custard to make a delightful centrepiece! 
  4. Whisk the mascarpone with the brandy sauce until thickened and smooth, then pour over the cake and fruit, being careful not to dislodge the gingerbread men. Chill for 30-60 minutes. 
  5. Mix the remaining ginger syrup from the jar, or some of the pineapple juice into the cream, and whip till you get soft peaks. Spoon this over the top of the trifle, sprinkle with any decoration you fancy (I used edible gold glitter but silver balls/stars would work, or even a little cinnamon!) and serve immediately. 

Notes

If you're looking for dessert ideas for a party you won't go wrong with this trifle. It's an easy dessert recipe for dinner parties, for Christmas, or even as an alternative to a birthday cake. I'd love to add sparklers to this gingerbread trifle for a celebration! 
See the blog post for additional tips, storage and troubleshooting hints.