Apricot Trifle

This simple apricot trifle or apricot dessert is made with leftover cake and served with whipped cream.

This apricot trifle is one of the simplest desserts I have ever made. I use leftover cake, which I happen to have from time to time, a quick and aromatic apricot sauce, and some whipped cream.

Try more apricot desserts: Apricot Cheesecake - No Bake, Easy Apricot Cake, Rice Pudding with Apricot Sauce, or Apricot Jam Crumble Cake.

How to make apricot trifle?

Apricot sauce

• If you have made the Apricot Sauce, this is a great way of using the leftovers. If not, you could cook the sauce just for this apricot dessert. It won't be a lot of extra work, and it is worth it.
• Or, if you have another compote or fruit sauce in the house feel free to use that.
• I can imagine this apricot trifle turning into a delicious cherry or peach trifle or even a more Christmassy dessert with a sweet cranberry sauce.
• You can make the apricot sauce either with fresh or with canned apricots.
• Canned apricots mean you don't even have to wait for the apricot season or go buy fresh apricots; you might just happen to have an apricot (or peach) can in your pantry.

Canned apricots

• If you make the sauce with canned apricots, don't cook the canned apricots; they are already soft.
• Pour the juice from the can into a measuring jug. If you don't have enough liquid, add some water to get there.
• Add just a little sugar, if you find it necessary. Use less sugar than you would use when making the sauce with fresh apricots, as the syrup from the can is already sweetened.
• Let simmer for 3 minutes. Thicken the apricot sauce with the cornstarch. In order to do that, whisk together the cornstarch with 2-3 teaspoons of cold water in a small bowl. Whisk this mixture into the sauce and let bubble a few times until the sauce thickens slightly. Add the sliced apricots and stir. Let cool.

Fresh apricots

• Halve the apricots and cut each half into 2 or 3 slices.
• Place the sugar, water, and apricots in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes.
• In a small bowl whisk together the cornstarch with 2-3 teaspoons cold water. You should have a thick yet pourable cornstarch slurry. Whisk this mixture into the sauce and let bubble a few times until the sauce thickens slightly. Let cool.

Crumbles

• The crumbles are just leftover cake, in my case leftover cake scrapings from making this cake base for a fondant decorated cake. I bake a lot, including more elaborate wedding or birthday cakes and I always have leftover cake in my freezer. This apricot dessert is a great way of using them.
• If you don't have any cake leftovers, you could bake that cake or another one you like or you could use a ready-made cake, your favorite brand.
• The quantities are not an exact science. Use the leftover cake you have and adjust the fruit sauce quantities accordingly.
• To prepare the trifle, crumble the cake with your hands.
• Melt the butter in a large pan, add the crumbles to the pan, sprinkle with the sugar and toast, stirring often, for about 8-10 minutes, until they are fragrant and not so soft anymore. Let cool.

Assemble the trifle

• Butter a small serving dish or casserole dish.
• Start layering the cake crumbles and the apricot sauce, finishing with a layer of crumbles.
• The apricot layer should be more or less as thick as the crumble layer. In the end, I had 3 crumble layers and two apricot sauce layers, if you have more ingredients, just make more layers.
• Chill the apricot trifle for a few hours before serving.
• Garnish with fresh lemon balm or mint (if you have them, it is optional) and whipped cream.
• Whipped cream is only used for garnishing the dessert, 240 ml/ 1 cup of heavy or whipping cream should be enough. The apricot trifle is pretty sweet, so I never add sugar to the cream when serving it. But, of course, you can do that if you wish.

The inspiration for this recipe came from an old Romanian newspaper cut from 1938.

Apricot Trifle

This simple apricot trifle or apricot dessert is made with leftover cake and served with whipped cream.

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Desserts

Cuisine: Romanian

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 466kcal

Author: Adina

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Ingredients 

USEU

Apricot sauce:

• ▢ 5.5 oz apricots Note 1
• ▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar Note 2
• ▢ ½ cup cup water Note 3
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• ▢ 2-3 teaspoons cold water

Apricot dessert

• ▢ 3-5 cups crumbled leftover cake Note 4
• ▢ apricot sauce
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 2 tablespoons sugar
• ▢ 1 cup whipping/heavy cream
• ▢ fresh mint or lemon balm to garnish optional

Instructions

Apricot sauce with canned apricots:

• Canned apricots: If using them, don't cook them; they are already soft. Drain the can and reserve the juice. Slice the apricots and set them aside.

  5.5 oz apricots/ 155 g
• Drain: Pour the juice from the can into a measuring jug. If you don't have the required ½ cup liquid (125 ml), add some water to get there. Add just a little sugar; if you find it necessary, I don't. Use less sugar than you would use when making the sauce with fresh apricots, as the syrup from the can is already sweet.

  ¼ cup granulated sugar/ 50 g
• Cook: Pour the juice into a small pan, bring it to a boil, and let simmer for 3 minutes.
• Thicken: Whisk the cornstarch with 2-3 teaspoons of cold water in a small bowl; you should obtain a thick yet pourable paste. Slowly whisk the cornstarch into the apricot juice and let bubble once or twice until slightly thickened. Add the sliced apricots and stir. Let cool.

  1 teaspoon cornstarch + 2-3 teaspoons cold water

Apricot sauce with fresh apricots:

• Halve the apricots and cut each half into 2 or 3 slices.
• Cook: Place the sugar, water, and apricots in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes.

  ½ cup cup water/ 125 ml
• Thicken: Whisk the cornstarch with 2-3 teaspoons of cold water in a small bowl; you should obtain a thick yet pourable paste. Slowly whisk the cornstarch into the apricot juice and let bubble once or twice until slightly thickened. Let cool.

Apricot dessert:

• Crumble the cake with your hands.

  3-5 cups crumbled leftover cake
• Toast crumbles: Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the cake crumbles to the pan, sprinkle with the sugar, and toast, often stirring, for 8-10 minutes, until they are fragrant and not so soft anymore. Let cool.

  2 tablespoons butter + 2 tablespoons sugar
• Layer trifle: Butter a small serving dish or casserole dish. Start layering the cake crumbles and the apricot sauce, finishing with a layer of crumbles.

  The apricot layer should be more or less as thick as the crumble layer. In the end, I had 3 crumble layers and two apricot sauce layers. If you have more ingredients, use a larger dish or make more layers.
• Chill apricot dessert for a few hours.
• Whip the heavy cream (no sugar necessary) and garnish the dessert with whipped cream and fresh mint or lemon balm just before serving.

  1 cup whipping/heavy cream/ 250 ml +fresh mint or lemon balm to garnish

Notes

1. Apricots: You can use the same amount of canned apricots/peaches/cherries, and so on.
2. Sugar: More to taste if the apricots are not ripe enough.
3. Juice: You can use the juice from the apricot can (mixed with water if it is not enough); in this case, leave out the sugar.
4. Cake: Use bought cake if you don't have any leftovers.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 of the dessert | Calories: 466kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 178mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 34g

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