Passover is definitely not the holiday you think of for delicious and decadent desserts. Growing up, most of our Passover desserts consisted of an interesting array of Manischewitz products. There were crunchy chocolate chip cookies, macaroons, marshmallow twists, and mandel bread. While certainly not what you might describe as delicious, they were the staple dessert at the table year after year. Another, and definitely more appetizing dessert, also made its way onto the table; our grandpa’s homemade angel food cake with fresh strawberries and cream. We’ve probably had that almost as long as the Manischewitz desserts. Taking our inspiration from that, we tweaked another one of his recipes and then turned that into this delicious berry trifle.
This trifle is certainly not lacking in flavor! It’s slightly tart due to the lemon curd but also very sweet because of the fresh whipped cream and berries. The sponge cake is incredibly light and fluffy because of all of those whipped egg whites. While not pareve, this cake pairs perfectly with any dairy meal. Slightly time consuming, but not difficult, you will definitely want to make it for this years’ Passover.
Some helpful hints and tips before you get started:
- Remember to very carefully separate the eggs and to not get any yolks into the whites otherwise they will not whip up properly. (We know from round 1!)
- Also, keep in mind that the cake won’t rise too much because there are no leavening agents in the cake.
Citrus Sponge Cake Berry Trifle
- Total Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes
- Yield: 10–12 servings 1x
Description
A light and refreshing Passover dessert with strawberries, raspberries, and fresh whipped cream.
Ingredients
Cake:
- 8 large or jumbo eggs, separated
- 1 and 1/4 cup finely granulated sugar
- zest and juice from 1 orange
- 1/4 cup matzoh cake meal, finely ground
- 3/4 cup potato starch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Filling
- 1 quart strawberries
- 2 pints raspberries
- 2 pints whipping cream
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups lemon curd (follow your favorite recipe online or purchase already made lemon curd from the store)
Instructions
Cake:
- Carefully separate eggs and place whites and yolks into 2 separate large bowls.
- Beat whites on high until stiff. About 8-10 minutes with an electric beater. Set aside.
- Beat yolks on high along with the 1 1/4 cup finely granulated sugar until pale yellow and thick. About 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in zest, orange juice, matzah cake meal, potato starch and salt to the yolk mixture.
- Very gently fold in the egg whites using a spatula. Fold until batter is smooth.
- Place batter into a lined (parchment paper) bundt pan and bake in a preheated 350F oven for about 40 minutes.
- Remove and allow to cool to room temperature before inverting cake from the pan to a plate.
Trifle Assembly
- CAKE: Gently slice the cooled cake into 3 even layers with a serrated knife. You may need to trim edges to allow it to fit inside the trifle bowl.
- WHIPPED CREAM: Beat whipping cream along with the 1/2 cup granulated sugar until stiff. Place into piping bag fitted with a large tip. We used Ateco #8.
- FRUIT: Slice strawberries about 1/4 inch thick. Remove raspberries from refrigerator.
- LEMON CURD: Follow your favorite recipe online or purchase already made lemon curd from the store.
- Place 1 layer of cake on the bottom of the trifle bowl. Spoon out about 1/4-1/3 cup of the lemon curd and spread evenly over the cake.
- Pipe on a layer of the whipped cream and then arrange your sliced strawberries on top of the cream.
- Cover with another layer of cake, followed by more lemon curd.
- Pipe on another layer of whipped cream and then arrange your raspberries on top of the cream.
- Cover with another layer of cake, followed by more lemon curd.
- Cover with the final layer of whipped cream and decorate top with the remaining fruit.
- Serve immediately or chill in fridge until ready to serve.
Notes
Given that this cake is a Passover cake, there is no leavening agent used. Therefore, the cake won’t rise that much when it bakes.
You can also substitute regular sponge cake to make this a year-round recipe.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
