Summer’s pretty much here so we’ve been on the hunt for the latest recipe. We think we’ve found the perfect one you’ll be able to pull out on literally ANY occasion because it’s easy, it’s tasty, and the best part, it’s made to be portable! Literally obsessed with that last part. Let’s get into making our Mason Jar Strawberry Trifle.

Why we LOVE this recipe:

• This recipe can be as hand-made or as quick as you feel like it. If you’re a wiz in the kitchen or just love baking, each element can be made from scratch pretty easily. Today though, we’ll be focusing on the easiest and quickest way to put this recipe together that’ll still have people thinking you made it all from scratch (honestly who needs to know, let them decide for themselves).

• The fact that this recipe is assembled in a mason jar is our favorite thing about it! Not only does this mean it can be assembled ahead of time and kept fresh with a lid, but it can easily be brought along to all sorts of events like days at the beach, picnics in the park, dinner at a friend's. All that’s needed is a spoon to scoop it out and the rest you could say is a piece of cake ;)

• The last part we love is how customizable this recipe is! You can use small mason jars, or large ones for sharing. You could change the type of cake or even the fruit that’s used if there’s a strawberry allergy or even just a strong personal preference. You could make this recipe over and over again without ever having to do it the same way twice (a blueberry chocolate cake version sounds super good to us!)

Ingredients for the quick and easy version:

• 4 Mason jars, size of choice
• Strawberries (as many as you need to fill your mason jars, but around 1 lbs should be enough for four 8-oz jars)
• 1 Tsp of sugar
• 1 Box of cake mix
• Strawberry Jam
• 1 pack of vanilla pudding cups
• Whipped cream for topping

Instructions

 

Step 1: Make Your Cake

The first step is making your cake to the instructions listed on the box. For us that meant preheating the oven to 350, combining water, oil, and eggs with the cake mix, then popping it in the oven for 30 min to bake.

 

*Hot tip: Play around with the size of your mason jars and cake pans. If you’re looking to showcase lots of layers, look for tall mason jars, and use larger pans to make thinner cakes for more layers. Want to keep it single serving and simple? Stick to a 5-8 oz short mason jar and use a traditional cake pan. This will give you thicker layers to fill most of your mason jar that can be topped off with the rest of the ingredients.

Step 2: Prep Time

While your cake is baking, we’ll use this time to prep the strawberries. Wash and cut up as many strawberries as you’ll need. We cut up our entire pint of strawberries minus a few of the prettiest ones we used for a topping. Once cut up, toss the strawberries in about a teaspoon of sugar. This will help bring some juices to the surface so it’ll absorb into your cake for some extra flavor!

Step 3: Cool Off

Once your cake is done, pull it out of the oven and let cool for at least 30 min. If your cake is too hot, it’ll be too soft and crumbly to handle properly when cutting it out for the mason jar. While you wait for it to cool, take some time to chill yourself. Grab a drink, scroll through insta, put your feet up. Cake chilling time is your time.

 
Step 4: Cut the Cake

Got enough chilling time? Great let’s start cutting the cake! You can use multiple items to cut the cake like a cookie cutter, or knife, but you want to make sure it’s the right size for your jar. When in doubt, just use the opening of your jar to cut out the cake for a perfect fit! Depending how thick your cake is or how tall your mason jars are, will depend on how many layers you’ll have. We used taller mason jars and a traditional cake pan for thick layers which gave us 3 cake layers in-between all the ingredients.

 

*Hot Tip: If you use the opening to your mason as a cake cutter, remember to cut out all the pieces you’ll want first. You won’t be able to keep cutting pieces once you start assembling them in the jar.

Step 5: Mason Jars ASSEMBLE!

Grab your mason jars, cake pieces, and let’s assemble! Start with a layer of cake, top with strawberries, then vanilla pudding, and finish the layer with jam. Add another piece of cake and repeat the process until you get to the top. We finished off the jar with a layer of cake, cut strawberries, and topped it off with a generous helping of whipped cream with our cutest strawberries for the final touch of decor! If you’re traveling to a destination, make sure to leave enough room to put the lid on or you can always bring the extra strawberries and whipped cream for the final touches before serving.

 

Hot Tip: We used vanilla pudding instead of custard since it tends to be more popular. If you’re a custard fam then we definitely recommend the swap for a more traditional trifle.

Step 6: Repeat and You’re Ready to go

Now repeat the previous steps until all your mason jars are filled and you’re ready to go! These can be made in advance and kept in the fridge until ready to be served up. Keep in mind the cake will start getting soggy so we still recommend making them the same day you’ll be eating them.

 

Hot Tip: A traditional trifle is usually an “adult-only” kind of dessert. If you’re looking to make some “adult” versions, just take the cake and soak it in your liquor of choice (typically sherry but brandy or rum also goes great). Just remember to label your mason jars so you know which is which.

That’s it! Just super quick, super easy, and a dessert you can take just about anywhere. You’ve got yourself a yummy and pretty treat just waiting to be made and we’d love to see how you guys make it. Try out the recipe and tag us #VictoriaEmerson so we can see all your great results!

Happy Summer!

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*Recipe based on: https://www.cookingclassy.com/strawberry-shortcake-trifles/