This Gingerbread Cranberry Panettone Trifle is a rich, decadent, and super easy Christmas dessert. It takes only 15 minutes to make, but it tastes like a million dollars!
Hello, everyone! Happy Monday! In fact, this Monday is not as harsh as usually. It’s somewhat enjoyable. Why? You really can feel the holidays now, and it feels good. On the other hand, the anticipation is the best part of the holiday season, so I am not rushing the time. Simply enjoying my Monday and sharing this delightful Gingerbread Cranberry Panettone Trifle.
My dear readers, if you haven’t chosen your Christmas dessert, please consider this trifle. It’s amazing, and I don’t say that often. It’s packed with the flavour, and it’s so easy to make (Well, it might take a bit longer than 15 minutes to make. On the other hand, if you plan accordingly, you will need just 10 minutes or less to assemble it. How does this sound now?)
Gingerbread Cranberry Panettone Trifle
What are the elements of this Gingerbread Cranberry Panettone Trifle?
- Store-bought Panettone (Italian sweet bread). You can choose any of your choice from plain to packed with chocolate or dried fruit. Remove the crust and reserve them for snacking on later;
- Mascarpone cream, or the combination of mascarpone and cream cheese, to be precise. Rich, decadent, smooth, and just perfect for a trifle;
- Splices and flavourings that bring in those holiday vibes such as nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and orange
- Simple coffee syrup (Make it one day ahead to save time on a day of assembling);
- Cranberry sauce (Make it one day ahead to save time on a day of assembling). I figured that it would be great to balance out the sweetness and richness of this dessert by adding a refreshing and luscious layer. Cranberries and gingerbread? What could be better!
I served this desert in glasses just for a presentation purpose, but it’s not the most convenient way, so feel free to use whatever you fancy. Indeed, you can double (triple maybe?) the recipe and make it in a large trifle bowl. It will disappear quite fast!
Cheers and see you soon.
Gingerbread Cranberry Panettone Trifle
Ingredients
Trifle:
- About 500 gr. Store-bought panettone, brown crust removed and reserved and cubed
- About 450 gr. Mascarpone, room temperature
- 400 gr. plain whipped Philadelphia cream cheese
- Between 1/3 to 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup honey
- Between 1/4 to 1/3 cup fancy molasses
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- 1 nutmeg, freshly grated
- 1 to 2 tsp. ginger
- A good pinch of cardamom
Cranberry Sauce:
- 3 cups frozen or fresh cranberries
- Juice of 1 orange
- ¼ cup honey
- Pinch of cinnamon
- About ¼ cup of water
Coffee Syrup:
- 1 cup very strong coffee
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
- To make the coffee syrup (Recommended in advance), combine the coffee with sugar in a small pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 12-15 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the vanilla and off heat. Cool.
- To make the cranberry sauce (Recommended in advance), combine all ingredients together and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Off heat and cool completely. Transfer to a blender and whizz up until smooth.
- To make the cream. beat together the mascarpone and whipped cream cheese, 1 minute to combine. Then add the remaining ingredients and beat 1-2 minutes more to incorporate. Try and adjust the sweetness / spices / molasses if desired.
- To assemble the trifle, place some panettone on the bottom of a dish you using (to cover). Drizzle with some of the coffee syrup over it. Place a layer of mascarpone cream and the cranberry sauce, then repeat with the panettone. There are no certain rules, and you can manage your layers and the layer thickness (As well as the amount of the syrup) as you fancy (In my case there are 2 layers of panettone, 2 layers of mascarpone, and one layer of the cranberry sauce.)
- You can serve the trifle right away, but it’s always good to let them stay in the fridge for some time.
Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
You know Ben I haven’t made a good triffle in absolutely ages. I think it was because my mum always made them and it was always the same fruit triffle so I grew bored of them. Now, this gingerbread cranberry panettone triffle is something unique. And I love how it only takes 15 minutes or so to make! Can’t wait to give this a go!
Neil recently posted…Easy Healthy Peppermint Fudge
What a great idea to use panettone in a trifle, Ben! I love it toasted with butter, but have never had it as part of a dessert. So festive!
Marissa recently posted…Lavosh Crackers
This sounds like such an awesome way to incorporate panettone into a trifle dessert, individual or family-style. Genius with the marscapone cream and all the goodies whatever you prefer in a matter of minutes. Walnuts and cranberries for me! Pinning! xo
LOVE this, Ben! The flavors are so Christmasy! I need to try this one soon!
Assembling trifles is so fun and this is such a delicious combination of flavors! Love how deceivingly easy these are to put together and have such a festive flare. Beautiful work, Ben!!
I love a good trifle during the holidays! And you already know how I feel about gingerbread. So the combination sounds awesome! I would agree with you about the glasses, but they do make for a fun way to serve this one. I’m thinking Santa needs some trifle instead of cookies this year! :-)
David @ Spiced recently posted…Eggnog Cream Pie
Beautiful photos, Ben!!! This trifle has my name written ALL over it. The mascarpone cream on its own is making me drool. I love this quick and easy way to surprise everyone with a show-stopping dessert!!