Pineapple Trifle with Coconut
This coconut and pineapple trifle recipe was inspired by a bottle of Malibu, believe it or not! It reminded me of Malibu and pineapple, which was popular when I was a teenager. Delicious, if you have a sweet tooth. I’d used most flavours of jelly already in my other trifle recipes (including a failed gin and lemon recipe for trifle that I never posted because the lemon jelly just tasted too synthetic), but I hadn’t yet tried pineapple.
The spray cream and sugar coated jelly diamonds add to the retro feel of this pud, but you could of course use real cream, and any sprinkles you like. To save time, I bought a coconut cake from my local bakery, but you could of course make one. BBC Good Food have an easy recipe.
There aren’t that many pineapple trifle dessert recipes around. I’ve seen one that also uses mandarins, creating a pineapple and orange trifle, but I prefer a pineapple coconut trifle. Why not a fresh pineapple trifle? Because the jelly would not set! True story. So you must use tinned pineapple, I’m afraid.
To make the coconut flavour stronger I have tried adding coconut cream to the custard when making this. I’ve omitted it here, however, as I couldn’t honestly tell the difference! Why over-complicate matters unless you have to? Do add the pineapple juice when making the jelly, though – it tastes fruitier.
You can also double the quantities used here to make a larger pineapple trifle – dessert for about 12-16 people. How much to make may also depend on the size of your trifle bowl. I have one for this size, as pictured, as well as a larger one for making a bigger pudding. You could even use a glass mixing bowl.
This easy pud takes just minutes to make – but jelly does take hours to set, so do allow enough time. Make sure you add the spray cream just before serving, as it soon goes flat.
Makes one medium trifle (serves 6-8)
Pineapple trifle ingredients
- Coconut loaf cake, half
- Pineapple jelly, 1 pack (or block)
- Pineapple pieces, in juice, 1 tin, drained
- Custard, 1 large carton (500g)
- Extra thick squirty cream, 1 can
- Jelly diamonds, to decorate
Equipment
How to make coconut & pineapple trifle
- Firstly, cut the cake into small cubes, then place these cake pieces into the bottom of a large glass trifle bowl. Lay the pineapple pieces over those.
- Make the jelly according to pack instructions. At the cold water stage, use the juice from the pineapple tin and make up the amount with cold water. Pour this into the bowl. Refrigerate overnight – or all day – until the jelly is set.
- Add the custard on top of the jelly, then smooth the top with a spatula to get a nice, even layer.
- Just before serving, spray the cream on top of the trifle, then add the jelly diamonds to the whipped topping as pictured.
Related recipes:
- Eton Mess trifle
- Shot glass raspberry trifles
- Unicorn trifle
- Gingerbread trifle
- Cherry & coconut slice
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