Pandoro Christmas Trifle with Custard, Spiced Plums, and Chantilly Cream may become your new favorite holiday dessert. This scrumptious trifle uses the wonderful Pandoro (the Italian Christmas packaged cake), and homemade lemon custard, spiced plums, and Chantilly cream in the layers.
Song of the day: This Christmas - John Legend
What is Pandoro
To explain, Pandoro is a traditional Italian Christmas cake, one that you can find in any Italian store and house during the Christmas and New Year's holidays. It is basically a buttery leavened cake in the shape of a star, whose name Pan d'oro literally means golden bread.
Not only is Pandoro an amazingly delicious dessert eaten as is with just a dusting of icing sugar. It is also versatile and can be used to make even more fantastic Christmas desserts.
Ingredients
The ingredients for this Pandoro Christmas Trifle with Custard and Spiced Plums are the followings:
- about half of a store bought Pandoro
- dark rum, to soak the Pandoro
- snowflake cookies, slivered almonds, rosemary sprigs, for decoration
For the spiced plums:
- plums, water, orange, lemon, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, all spice, sugar
the custard:
- egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, milk, lemon zest
and the Chantilly cream:
- whipping cream, icing sugar, vanilla
Steps of the preparation
Absolutely, this Pandoro Christmas Trifle with Custard and Spiced Plums is not difficult to make, however, there are a few steps in the preparation.
Make the spiced plums
By all means, you can make the spiced plums ahead of time. Store in a mason jar and keep it in the fridge until ready to use. I adapted the amazing recipe of Anna Olson's spiced plums that I got to use when making her Napoleons. Find the full recipe in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Wash and cut the plums in half, remove the pit, and cut into quarters. Place in a saucepan, and add the water. Cut the orange and lemon in half, squeeze the juice in and drop the halves in the saucepan. Add the star anise, the ground cinnamon, cloves, and all spice and bring to a full simmer, uncovered, over medium heat. Stir occasionally.
- Then, add the sugar and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes or until the plums are tender but still hold their shape. Turn off heat, let cool, then remove the citrus halves and star anise. Pour into sterilized jars, let cool completely, then keep in the fridge for up to 3 months.
Make the custard
- First, separate the egg yolks from the whites. Save the whites for another recipe. Place the yolks into a bowl, add the sugar and cornstarch, and whisk until combined.
- Secondly, in a pot over low medium heat, add the milk and the lemon rind. Take to a scalding point. Turn off heat and remove the film on the top. Slowly pour some milk over the egg mixture and whisk. Continue to pour and whisk, then, place the milk/egg mixture back in the pot. Turn on the heat to low/medium and whisk continuously for a few minutes until thickened. Turn off heat, remove the lemon rind, and place in a bowl. If you see any lumps, run the custard through a fine mesh sieve. Cover with plastic wrap and press the wrap onto the top of the cream. Let cool.
Make the Chantilly cream
Find the full recipe in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a bowl with a hand-held mixer, start whipping the cream with the vanilla extract. When it starts developing medium peaks, add the icing sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
First layer of the Pandoro Christmas Trifle
- Open the Pandoro package, take the cake out of the plastic wrap, and cut it horizontally in three 1 and ½ inch slices. Cut the slices into roughly 1 inch cubes. Place half of the cubes into the bottom of the trifle bowl.
- Drizzle some rum over the pandoro cubes.
- Spoon all the custard over the rum-soaked pandoro cubes.
- Place about half of the spiced plums on top of the custard.
Second layer of the Pandoro Christmas Trifle
- Arrange the other half of the pandoro cubes over the spiced plums.
- Drizzle with the juice from the spiced plums.
- Top the cubes with the rest of the plums.
- Finish with spreading the Chantilly cream on top of the plums.
How to decorate the Pandoro Christmas Trifle
Definitely, you can decorate the top of the Pandoro Christmas Trifle as your creativity chooses. We placed four different sizes of our Sugar and Spiced Snowflake Cookies upright on one corner, and sprinkled around a handful of toasted slivered almonds. Finally, we used rosemary sprigs as little trees and planted them on another corner.
Pandoro Christmas Trifle with Custard and Spiced Plums
This dessert has all the flavors, textures, and aromas of Christmas. The spices in the plums, the rum, the fluffiness of the pandoro, together with the cream and custard create a beautiful balance and a symphony in your mouth.
A yearly blogger collaboration for Christmas
Just like last year, we got together with our friends Margaret and Raymond's KitchenFrau to make each our own trifle. This has become a tradition and one that we enjoy and look forward to every year. Last year we made a yule log, and we're already planning what the next festive dessert will be.
In the end, our trifles reflect our backgrounds. While ours hosts the flavors of Italy, Margaret's Gingerbread Christmas Trifle highlights her German culture. In the next photo you can see them together in all their glory and we were quite smitten with the end result. Most of all, we got to taste both and they are exquisite in their own way.
Happy holiday baking!
PrintPandoro Christmas Trifle with Custard and Spiced Plums
Pandoro Christmas Trifle with Custard, Spiced Plums, and Chantilly Cream may become your new favorite holiday dessert. This scrumptious trifle uses the wonderful Pandoro (the Italian Christmas packaged sponge cake), and homemade lemon custard, spiced plums, and Chantilly cream in the layers.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian/Fusion
Ingredients
- 250 g Pandoro (7-8 cups), cut into 1-inch cubes
- ¼ cup dark rum
- toasted slivered almonds, and rosemary sprigs for decoration
Spiced Plums
- 1 lb (450 g) plums
- ¼ cup (63 ml) water
- 1 organic lemon
- 1 organic orange
- 1 whole star anise
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground all spice
- ¾ cups (150 g) sugar
Custard
- 3 large egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons cane or granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 400 ml milk (I used 3.25%)
Chantilly Cream
- 1 cup (250 ml) whipping cream
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 3 tablespoons icing/powdered sugar
Instructions
Spiced plums
- Wash and cut the plums in half, remove the pit, and cut into quarters. Place in a saucepan, and add the water. Cut the orange and lemon in half, squeeze the juice in and drop the halves in the saucepan. Add the star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and all spice and bring to a full simmer, uncovered, over medium heat. Stir occasionally.
- Then, add the sugar and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes or until the plums are tender but still hold their shape. Turn off heat, let cool, then remove the citrus halves and star anise. Pour into sterilized jars and keep in the fridge for up to 3 months.
Custard
- Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Save the whites for another recipe. Place the yolks into a bowl, add the sugar and cornstarch, and whisk until combined.
- In a pot over low medium heat, add the milk and the lemon rind. Take to a scalding point. Turn off heat and remove the film on the top. Slowly pour some milk over the egg mixture and whisk. Continue to pour and whisk, then, place the milk/egg mixture back in the pot. Turn on the heat to low/medium and whisk continuously for a few minutes until thickened. Turn off heat, remove the lemon rind, and place in a bowl. If you see any lumps, run the custard through a fine mesh sieve. Cover with plastic wrap and press the wrap onto the top of the cream. Let cool.
Chantilly cream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a bowl with a hand-held mixer, start whipping the cream with the vanilla extract. When it starts developing medium peaks, add the icing sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
Assemble
- Open the Pandoro package, take the cake out of the plastic wrap, and cut it horizontally in three or four 1 and ½ inch slices. Cut the slices into roughly 1 inch cubes.
- Place half of the cubes into the bottom of the trifle bowl.
- Drizzle some rum over the pandoro cubes.
- Spoon all the custard over the rum-soaked pandoro cubes.
- Place about half of the spiced plums on top of the custard.
- Arrange the other half of the pandoro cubes over the spiced plums.
- Drizzle with the juice from the spiced plums.
- Top the cubes with the rest of the plums.
- Finish with spreading the Chantilly cream on top of the plums.
Decorate
- We placed four different sizes of Sugar and Spiced Snowflake Cookies upright on one corner, and sprinkled around a handful of toasted slivered almonds. Finally, we used rosemary sprigs as little trees and planted them on another corner.
Notes
You can make the spiced plums ahead of time. Store in a mason jar and keep in the fridge until ready to use.
I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.
Savita says
Your Pandoro Christmas Trifle with Custard and Spiced Plums is a holiday showstopper! The delicate layers of Pandoro, velvety custard, and spiced plums create a symphony of festive flavors and textures.
Thank you! Yes, the layers are beautiful together! People loved it!
Tammy says
Trifles are such a fun treat to make. I love this holiday inspired one! Total show stopper and fun to create as well...I think this would be a wonderful addition to my Christmas table this year ;D
Thanks! It was so fun to make, and so delicious to eat 😉 .
DK Park says
This recipe is definitely perfect for the holidays! I need to make on of this now, thank you for this wonderful idea!
You're welcome! Happy to inspire 😉 .
Mikayla says
What a deliciously simple yet fancy dessert for the holiday, the spice combination really make the flavor burst with each bite.
Thank you so much!
Jamie says
That’s definitely giving Christmas desert! I love it so much! Thanks for this recipe!
You're welcome! Hope you love it as much as we did.
Carrie Robinson says
What a gorgeous dessert to celebrate the holidays with! 🙂 And I love the tradition behind it. I just might have to make this for my family this year.
Thank you! We love family traditions around here 😉 .
Erin says
That's such a fun tradition! This trifle looks like a great contribution to the day. 🙂 I've never had pandoro but I'm so on board! This sounds perfect for Christmas.
If you have never had Pandoro, you'll have to change that 😉 . Thank you for your lovely comment!
Katie Crenshaw says
I made this for a Christmas party. It turned out beautiful and everyone loved the flavors.
Thank you! Happy to hear that!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
I love making trifles and this is just so perfect for the holidays. The spiced plums are delicious and it is going to be a staple in my pantry. I have all the ingredients ready and already made my plums. Can't wait to assemble it.
Wonderful! It is a truly incredible combination of flavors.
Hayley Dhanecha says
This Pondoro Christmas trifle is a festive masterpiece! The layers of flavors and textures create a holiday delight that's almost too beautiful to eat. Thanks for sharing this mouthwatering recipe.
Thank you! It could truly be a showstopper on every holiday table.
Jenny says
Loretto and Nicoletta, your trifle is the prettiest dessert I have seen this holiday season! It is so beautiful and delicate and festive. I am also going to try and imitate your decorations and will make the trifle for Christmas dinner. Wish me luck! Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Thank you! Hope you made it and it turned out amazing and everyone loved it.
Moop Brown says
I had never previously heard of this dessert before but it looks really tasty and festive. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Dee says
What a beautiful trifle. Stunning is an understatement. Now I need to go buy a trifle dish so I can make it!
Thanks so much! Everyone should own a trifle bowl 😉 .
Margaret@KitchenFrau says
Your trifle was amazing! So delicious with that golden pandoro and those gorgeous spiced plums. I'm so glad I got to taste it!
It was so much fun doing our festive baking together. ❤️
Thank you, Margaret! We enjoy our holiday baking together very much. How lucky we are that we got to taste two incredible trifles!