This trifle is light and airy piled with angel food cake, vanilla pudding, whipped cream, mango, and macadamia nuts for texture among silky soft layers. It's suited for every kind of gathering, especially in the summertime.
Whisk together instant pudding mix and milk. Set aside.
Peel and dice mangoes. Toss with granulated sugar and lemon juice and set aside.
Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
Assemble the trifle by layering 1⁄3 of the angel food cake pieces. Spoon 1⁄3 of the pudding over the angel food cake, followed by 1⁄3 of the whipped cream.
Spoon 1⁄3 of the mango pieces over the pudding and whipped cream and then sprinkle 1⁄3 of the macadamia nuts with the mangoes.
Repeat a second and third layer of the ingredients, placing the final whipped cream, mangoes, and macadamia nuts neatly for a nice presentation.
Top with chopped, curled, or white chocolate chips as desired.
Notes
We like to mix the diced mangoes with lemon juice (to prevent browning) and granulated sugar. The macerated fruit will be juicy and helps to spread the mangoes further throughout the trifle. If you do not want any mango juices in the trifle, skip the granulated sugar, but toss with a bit of lemon juice to help the mangoes maintain their vibrant color.
We found an 8 oz. “mini angel food cakes” at our local grocery store. This size worked well to fill out the trifle. If you use a full size angel food cake, you may need less or you may wish to reduce your pudding and whipped cream amounts (or create only two layers). Pound cake would substitute well for the angel food cake.
Cover the mango trifle with plastic wrap or transfer leftovers to an air-tight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Making Ahead - Though this trifle is best served the day of making, you can certainly still make it a day in advance and store it, covered, in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Do note that the whipped cream, as it's made fresh, may begin to break down as it sits in the fridge but it should be fine if you prepare it the night before or morning of so long as you store the trifle in the refrigerator. To prevent it from breaking down, you can use a stabilized whipped cream such as Cool Whip or use our homemade stabilized whipped cream recipe. The mangoes may also begin to brown if made too far in advance.