Strawberry Banana Trifle

Strawberry Banana Trifle- Yummy homemade pudding, fresh strawberries and bananas, pound cake, and whipped cream- all layered together for a summer dessert that tastes as good as it looks!



Trifle is one of my family’s favorite desserts. I make raspberry and strawberry cheesecake trifle on a regular basis, but my 16 year old requested a banana trifle for his birthday this year. I had some fresh strawberries on hand, and asked if he’d be OK if I tossed them in as well. He agreed, and this Strawberry Banana Trifle was the result. It was a huge hit with the entire family!

I started with the same homemade pudding that I use for banana cream pie. If you’ve never had homemade pudding before, you’ve got to give it a try. It is delish! Seriously, it beats the tar outta that stuff in a box.
We loved the color and flavor of the strawberries in this trifle, but if you’d prefer, you could just use a couple additional bananas in place of the berries. The one difference between this trifle and others I’ve made is that you have to serve it within a couple hours, or the bananas start to brown.

I like to use homemade pound cake, but you can of course substitute store bought pound cake if you prefer. I don’t like using a regular cake mix though, because it gets pretty soggy.

Strawberry Banana Trifle

1 recipe of Vanilla Pudding (below)
1 loaf of pound cake (I only use about 2/3 of the loaf)
2-3 pints of fresh strawberries, sliced
3 large bananas, sliced
1 cup cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Vanilla Pudding
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
4 egg yolks, beaten
4 cups milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine
4 tsp vanilla

Blend sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a heavy large saucepan. Beat together the egg yolks and milk till smooth. Gradually stir into the sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, till mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for at least one minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to cool completely.

To assemble trifle: Cut the pound cake into cubes and arrange half of them in the bottom of a glass bowl or trifle dish. Top with half the bananas and half of the sliced strawberries. Spread half of the banana pudding over the berries. Top with the remaining cake cubes, bananas, and strawberries. Spread the remaining pudding over the berries, making sure to seal the edges. Whip the cream till soft peaks form. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla and continue beating till stiff peaks form. Spoon over the top of the pudding. Garnish with a fresh strawberry if desired. Serve within a couple of hours.