Dairy-Free Jello Custard Christmas Trifle

What screams the holidays louder than a Trifle? If you live in New Zealand, home of Manuka honey and birthplace of our co-founder Linda, not much! 

Our CMO, Dominic, hails from England, the birthplace of the modern trifle. Since Dom is married to the CFO and founders’ daughter Kristy, that makes this recipe a verified P.R.I. family favorite!  

Now that the Noll family history lesson is over, we have to admit that we did tweak this a bit from your more traditional recipe by making it dairy free. Since an estimated 70% of people are lactose intolerant, it felt necessary. After all, everyone at your table deserves to enjoy all the delicious holiday goodies!

We also made it non-alcoholic by not soaking the sponge cake in sherry. If all of your party members are of drinking age, we recommend soaking; it is delicious! Simply cut the pound cake, lay it in a baking dish and add sherry until it is moist but not wet. Let it sit while you make the rest of the dessert. If boozy desserts are your jam, you might want to check out our Irish Porter Cake recipe too! 

Jello Layer:

• 4 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
• 3 cups raspberry cranberry juice
• 1 cup pomegranate juice
• 1-2 tbsp PRI Manuka Honey
• 6 oz. raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• ¼ cup pomegranate arils

Custard Layer:

• 1 cup full-fat coconut milk or heavy coconut cream
• 1 cup almond milk
• ½ cup PRI Manuka Honey 
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 3 large egg yolks
• pinch of salt

Other Ingredients:

• pound cake or angel food cake (store-bought or homemade)
• 2 - 10 oz. dairy-free whipped topping tubs (use Truwhip brand or make your own coconut whipped cream by whisking coconut cream, honey, and vanilla)
• 12 oz. fresh raspberries 
• ½ cup pomegranate arils
• 2 tbsp sliced almonds
• fresh mint leaves
• optional: meringue kisses

Custard Instructions:

1. Fill a large bowl with ice and water and set aside.
2. Pour coconut milk and almond milk into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium/low heat.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together Manuka honey, whole egg, egg yolks, cornstarch, and salt. Place the bowl near the stove for easy access to the milk mixture.
4. Once the milk begins to simmer, stir well to distribute the heat. 
5. Then turn off the stove and use a ladle to slowly add the hot milk to the egg mixture while whisking simultaneously. Continue to do this until half the mixture has been whisked in, then pour the rest into the bowl and continue to whisk well until incorporated.
6. Pour the mixture back into the pot and turn the heat to medium-low. Continuously whisk the mixture as it begins to heat. You’ll notice thickening after 5-10 minutes of whisking. Once it starts to thicken, turn the heat to low and stir well until desired consistency. The custard should be thin but not runny. 
7. Remove the custard from the heat and stir in vanilla bean paste. 
8. Cool the custard by placing the bowl inside the ice water bowl and stirring until the mixture cools down. Then cover with plastic wrap and poke holes in the film and refrigerate overnight to thicken.

Jello Instructions:

1. In a large pot, bring 2 cups of raspberry cranberry juice and 1 cup of pomegranate juice to a boil.
2. In a large bowl, pour 1 cup of raspberry cranberry juice and sprinkle four unflavored gelatin packets into the juice to cover the surface. Let it sit for a minute to bloom.
3. Pour the boiling juice into the large bowl with bloomed gelatin and stir well until dissolved. Then add the Manuka honey and stir until it is fully incorporated. This should take about 5 minutes.
4. Pour the jello mixture into a large trifle dish and then place in raspberries and pomegranate arils. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to set overnight.

Assembly Instructions:

1. When ready to assemble, remove the trifle dish from the fridge and pipe or spoon the custard into an even layer.
2. Next, slice the poundcake into large or small cubes and fill the next layer with the cake pieces.
3. After the cake layer, spread whipped cream across the top and create a mound shape.
4. Finally, top with a large mound of fresh raspberries. Then sprinkle pomegranate arils and sliced almonds. Finish off with a few mint leaves. Top with store-bought or homemade meringue kisses to take it to the next level!
5. Serve and enjoy!