This Mango Trifle recipe is just perfect for summer. It's refreshing and light, and bursting with juicy mango. Angel food cake is layered with sweetened mango, white chocolate whipped cream, and macadamia nuts.
There is something special about a trifle, piled high with layer after layer of luxurious cake and cream, that really hits that celebratory note. This Mango Trifle is just right for any summertime celebration (even if the only thing you are celebrating is the weekend!).
It's light and airy, thanks to layers of angel food cake and fluffy white chocolate whipped cream. Plus, brown sugar sweetened mango chunks of course, that add that perfect amount of juiciness and tang. Finally, chopped macadamia nuts offer an extra pop of crunch that balances the fluffy texture of the cake and cream.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this Mango Trifle:
- Pre-made angel food cake: either store-bought, from a box mix, or homemade. I've used both store-bought and a cake mix and they both tasted great, I don't know if I would go through the effort of making an angel food cake from scratch just to tear it into chunks, personally!
- Mangoes: preferably ripe of course, but not too soft so they still hold their shape. (See my Mango Popsicles post for more info on choosing mangoes and testing for ripeness!)
- Brown sugar
- Lime juice: you can substitute lemon juice if you wish. This is just to give a little extra zip to the mangoes.
- Heavy whipping cream
- White chocolate chips
- Vanilla extract
- Macadamia nuts: you can purchase the macadamia nut "pieces" rather than whole, they are less expensive and we will be chopping them anyways!
FAQ
You can definitely make some components ahead, but for the trifle to look the freshest, assemble right before serving. However, you can still:
- Prep the mango 1 - 2 hours ahead, and store it in the fridge tightly covered.
- Make the white chocolate whipped cream 1 day ahead, and store it in the fridge tightly covered.
- Make/buy the angel food cake 1 - 2 days ahead
- Chop the nuts and store them in an airtight container for a couple weeks.
So, if you do these steps ahead, you should have a very short prep time when it comes to assembling the trifle, maybe 5 minutes or less!
Of course! Here are some substitution ideas I had:
For the mango: peeled peaches or nectarines, or pineapple chunks. Or a combination!
For the angel food cake: for a more decadent affair, try yellow cake instead!
For the macadamia nuts: try cashews or Brazil nuts. (Also, my husband is adamant that he isn't a fan of the macadamia nuts, and is advocating to substitute white chocolate chips).
I used a 96 ounce trifle dish for this mango trifle. If you want to use a larger dish, you can make 1.5 x or double the recipe. So, just check the size of your container before you begin!
You can also make these in individual cups. I've used 16 ounce wide mouth mason jars before, which work well because of the straight sides. But, this is a generous serving size if you fill it all the way up to the top.
Wine glasses also work well. Just make sure whatever container you use doesn't have a narrow rim so you won't have trouble adding in the layers. Here's a picture of what they look like as individual trifles, very cute!
If you love trifles as much as I do, check out my posts for Red Velvet Cheesecake Trifle and Mocha Oreo Trifles!
Step-by-step photos
Here are the basic steps on how to make the mango trifle, for full instructions please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post!
- Melt the white chocolate chips and some of the heavy cream, whisk until smooth and refrigerate.
- Cut the mangoes into bite-sized pieces. Stir together with the lime juice and brown sugar.
- Chop the macadamia nuts.
- When the white chocolate mixture is cooled, whip the remaining heavy cream with the vanilla to soft peaks, then drizzle in the white chocolate.
- Continue whipping until you get stiff peaks. Please do not overmix, or the whipped cream will get grainy!
- Tear the angel food cake into chunks and make your layers!
If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know what you thought about it in the comments down below, I would love to hear from you! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more delicious recipes from Nibble and Dine!
📖 Recipe
Mango Trifle
An airy and light trifle recipe with angel food cake, layered with fluffy white chocolate whipped cream, sweetened mango chunks and macadamia nuts.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 - 10 servings 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: no bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
- 5 cups mango chunks (about 4 large mangoes)
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- ¼ cup brown sugar (light or dark), packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ounces macadamia nuts (about ½ cup)
- 12 ounces prepared angel food cake (about 8 cups of torn pieces)
Instructions
- Stir together the white chocolate chips and â…” cup of the heavy whipping cream in a medium, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and let sit for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth. If needed, microwave again in 15 second increments, whisking in between until the white chocolate has melted completely. Cover loosely and place in the refrigerator to cool, at least 30 - 35 minutes. (Mixture does not need to be completely chilled, just cool to the touch.)
- Meanwhile, chop the macadamia nuts and set aside.
- Next, peel the mangoes and cut into bite-sized pieces. Place them into a medium bowl. Add the brown sugar and lime juice. Stir to combine; continue stirring gently until the brown sugar begins to dissolve. Set aside.
- Once the white chocolate mixture has cooled, begin making the whipped cream. Add the remaining 2 â…“ cups heavy whipping cream and vanilla into a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on high speed until soft peaks form, about 4 - 5 minutes. With the mixer running, drizzle in the white chocolate mixture. Continue beating until stiff peaks form, another 1 - 2 minutes. Do not overmix, or the whipped cream will become grainy.
- Tear the angel food cake into bite-sized pieces. Layer the ingredients in a 96 ounce glass trifle dish or individual glasses in the following order starting from the bottom: (1) angel food cake, (2) mango (including any accumulated juice), (3) whipped cream, (4) macadamia nuts. Continue layering in this order until the ingredients have been used, finishing on mango.* However, be sure to reserve a small amount of the whipped cream to garnish the top, along with a sprinkling of the macadamia nuts.
Notes
*You will likely be able to create 3 - 4 layers, depending on the width of the dish you are using, and how thick or thin you want the layers to be.
The white chocolate whipped cream can be made up to one day ahead, stored tightly covered in the refrigerator.
Total time for the recipe is 50 minutes with 30 minutes prep time; there is about 20 minutes inactive time while waiting for the white chocolate to cool in the fridge.
Basma
In the ingredients it says 3 cups cream, but in the instructions it says 2/3 cup with white chocolate and 1 1/3 remaining, so where should we add the 3rd cup?
Kate
Basma, you are absolutely right and I am so sorry for the error in my recipe, the 3 cups is correct. The directions should have instructed to use the remaining 2 1/3 cup in the whipped cream layer. I have corrected it in the recipe and again I am so sorry for the confusion!
Aarti Gadeock
Can I make this in the morning for the evening party or I cant
Kate
Hi Aarti, thank you for your question! You could make it in the morning, but the juices from the mango will soak into the cake and it won't look or taste quite as fresh (in my opinion). So, you can decide if that matters as much to you - if you want to do some parts ahead to save time on prep, you can make the whipped cream 1 day ahead of time, and buy or make the angel food cake a couple days in advance as well. You could even tear the cake into chunks in the morning and store it in a gallon ziptop bag or other airtight container. You can also peel and dice the mango in the morning and store in the fridge. Then, when it's time for your party you would just have to assemble. You could also assemble the trifle right before your guests arrive and store in the fridge, I think that would work ok too. I hope this helps!