Berry Custard Trifles in a Jar

This post is sponsored by Walkers Shortbread, but all opinions are my own.

These Berry Custard Trifles in a Jar are super easy to make, delicious and so darn cute! Plus they’re a great light treat for summer – and even Memorial Day, which is coming up!

I am so excited that summer is finally in full swing! It is officially H-O-T here and I’m ready for it. After a solid week at the beach with my family and lots of relaxing, we’re now gearing up for Memorial Day in a week. Plus, our 8 year wedding anniversary is tomorrow. So many things to be excited about!

These trifles are another thing to be excited about and a wonderful way to celebrate a holiday, or even just your average day. I love every single layer in them and they’re so cute. Everything is better in a jar, am I right?

The fun layers in the trifles begin with Walkers Shortbread. Not only is the shortbread wonderfully easy for adding to trifles, it is so darn tasty. The best shortbread! So buttery and sweet. It was hard to make sure they made it into the jar. There may have been some snacking between layering. 🙂

Next is the vanilla custard. If you’ve never tried homemade custard before, you really should. It’s so fresh tasting and it goes wonderfully in these trifles with the buttery shortbread and fresh fruit. It’s also not nearly as tough to make as it might seem. It’s all done right on the stove and only takes about 10 minutes.

MY OTHER RECIPES

The main component of the custard is the milk and eggs. The eggs thicken the custard, along with the cornstarch. You’ll want to cook the sugar, cornstarch and milk a bit, then stream some if it into the egg yolks while whisking it all together before adding the egg mixture back into the rest of the milk mixture. This process ensures that you slowly bring the egg yolks to temperature without cooking them too quickly and getting scrambled eggs.

Once the custard is made, you can let it cool a bit and then it’s ready to go.

The remaining layers are the fresh whipped cream and berries. Those alone are delicious together – with the buttery shortbread and vanilla custard it’s like a little party in a jar – and in my mouth.

So that everything has a chance to settle and the shortbread has a little time to soften up after layering, it’s best to let the trifles sit in the fridge for 3-4 hours before serving. If you just can’t handle waiting that long, you might be able to get away with eating them sooner – and I’d completely understand. Once you get a little taste of everything, you won’t want to wait any longer!

These trifles are sure to be a hit! So fresh, fruity and light. Once I finished one jar, it took all kinds of willpower to not go right on into eating the next. They are so light, you feel like you could eat them all. The hubs was a fan too. Being a fruit and shortbread lover, these were totally up his alley. I hope you love them as much as we did!

Berry Custard Trifles in a Jar

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• Yield: 4 Trifles
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Stove
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

VANILLA CUSTARD

• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup (104g) sugar
• 2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups (360ml) milk
• 1 1/2 tbsp salted butter
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

WHIPPED CREAM

• 1 cup (240ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
• 1/2 cup (58g) powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

ADDITIONAL

• 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
• two 5.3 oz packages Walkers Shortbread fingers
• 6 oz blueberries
• 8 oz strawberries, chopped

Instructions

1. To make the custard, put the egg yolks in a medium sized bowl and gently beat them together. Set aside.
2. Add the sugar, cornstarch and milk to a large saucepan and mix until smooth.
3. Cook, stirring continuously, over medium-high heat until mixture begins to thicken and bubble.
4. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. Add a little bit of the milk mixture to the egg yolks and whisk together, then add egg mixture to milk mixture. This process ensures that you don’t cook the egg yolks.
6. Place the pan back on the heat and bring to a light boil. Allow to boil for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
7. Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth, then set aside to cool to room temperature.
8. To make the whipped cream, add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
9. To build the trifles, put the additional milk into a small bowl. Break a shortbread finger cookie into 4 pieces and dip them into the milk for 2-3 seconds.
10. Place the pieces into the bottom of each of the 4 mini jars.
11. Top the shortbread with a layer of the custard.
12. Add a layer of blueberries and strawberries.
13. Next, pipe a layer of whipped cream.
14. Repeat another layer of shortbread, custard and berries.
15. Finish of the trifles with a swirl of whipped cream, a piece of shortbread and a couple berries. Refrigerate trifles for 3-4 hours before serving, so the cookies have a chance to soften up.

Enjoy!