This trifle is striking in its colors, flavors, and textures. With layers of orange cake, saffron phirni custard (more on that below ⬇️), two types of mascarpone cream, and jewel-toned fruit gelatin, it creates a show-stopping dessert. We created this winning saffron orange trifle for Episode 3 of Hallmark’s Baked with Love: Holiday. It's inspired by Saman’s Iranian family traditions and built around his grandmother Sidi Joon's orange cake recipe. Bon appetit, or nooshe joon, as you'd say in Farsi!
Jump to:
- ✨ Why You’ll Love This Trifle
- 📝 Key Ingredients
- 🗣️ Important: Choosing Your Trifle Dish
- Quick Recipe Video
- 🧊 Saffron Water Blooming Instructions
- 🍊 Step-by-Step Instructions to Bake the Orange Cake
- Make the Saffron–Orange Blossom Glaze
- Preparing the Saffron Phirni
- Whipping the Mascarpone Creams
- Making the Fruit Gelatin
- Assembling the Saffron Orange Trifle
- 💡 Pro Tips
- ❓ Saffron Orange Trifle FAQs
- 🥶 Storage & Make-Ahead Instructions
- More Desserts
- Saffron Orange Trifle with Cardamom
We had the time of our lives appearing on Hallmark’s baking competition series, Baked with Love: Holiday, which premiered October 27, 2025!
This baking journey was even better with my husband Saman at my side as baker, teammate, and supporter.
We're excited for you to see the holiday magic unfold! 🎄
✨ Why You’ll Love This Trifle
- Show-stopping centerpiece: Over 10 layers of cake, cream, custard, and fruit in a glass bowl. Magical!
- Customizable: You can make more or less of the layers you like most. This is a super adaptable recipe, depending on your preferences.
- Bold, festive flavors: Saffron, rosewater, orange blossom, pistachio, and pomegranate bring Iranian holiday notes into a Christmas dessert.
- Texture variety: Soft sponge cake, creamy phirni, airy whipped cream, and bouncy fruit gelatin.
- Family heritage: Built on the cherished orange cake recipe from Saman's grandma, Sidi Joon ("Joon" means dear in Farsi 💛).
📝 Key Ingredients
Here’s what makes this saffron orange trifle special:
- Saffron: Finely ground and bloomed in water for authentic flavor and color.
- Orange Cake: A light sponge infused with orange zest and juice, brushed with a saffron–orange blossom glaze.
- Phirni Custard: Our twist on the Persian dessert sholeh zard, spiced with cardamom and rosewater.
- Whipped Creams: Two versions — rosewater mascarpone and orange blossom mascarpone — nicely complete the flavor profile here.
- Fruit Gelatin: Jewel-toned layers of pomegranate, berries, and gelatin for structure and brightness.
- Decorations: Pomegranate seeds, crushed pistachios, rose petals, sliced figs, and saffron threads add the finishing touches.
🗣️ Important: Choosing Your Trifle Dish
This recipe is designed to fill a trifle bowl that's approximately 8" wide and 8" tall.
If your dish is smaller, we suggest accordingly adjusting your pan sizes when you bake the cake layers and fill the pans with your layers of gelatin, mascarpone cream, and custard.
Even with a smaller dish than what we used, you can also follow this recipe as is. Just know that you'll need to trim your layers.
As a result, you may have excess, but the beauty of trifles is that they are very forgiving! You can repurpose all of these ingredients into smaller bowls, dishes, and serving vessels to fit your needs.
Quick Recipe Video
🧊 Saffron Water Blooming Instructions
Saffron water is important here, as it's key in your custard as well as the orange cake glaze.
- Crush the saffron - Use a mortar & pestle (or back of a spoon on a plate) to grind the saffron threads. Add a pinch of sugar or salt if desired. Adding a tiny pinch of sugar or salt helps with grinding.
From there, you have two options:
Option A: Ice-Bloom Option (Slower, maximum aroma & color)
- Place the crushed saffron into a small glass.
- Add about 6-8 small/medium ice cubes (or 4-6 slightly larger cubes) so that when they melt you’ll have ~8 tablespoon of liquid.
- Let sit at room temperature until the ice is fully melted (approximately 45-60 minutes). Once melted and the liquid turns a deep golden-orange hue, the saffron infusion is ready for use.
Option B: Hot-Bloom Option (Faster, use when short on time)
- Heat water until it is very hot but not at a rolling boil (target roughly 70-80 °C or 160-175 °F) to avoid degrading the delicate compounds in saffron.
- Pour ~8 tablespoons (≈120 mL) of this hot water into the cup containing the crushed saffron.
- Let steep for ~5-15 minutes until the liquid turns a deep golden-orange hue, the saffron infusion is ready for use.
💡 Store any leftover infusion in a sealed container in the fridge (ideally use within the next 3-5 days).
🍊 Step-by-Step Instructions to Bake the Orange Cake
Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper or baking release spray.
Cream the butter and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar and continue mixing until the mixture looks pale and fluffy.
Add the eggs. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed just until incorporated after each addition. Avoid overmixing at this stage.
Sift the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt to combine.
Fold dry ingredients into the batter. Using a spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture until only a few streaks of flour remain.
Incorporate orange zest and juice. Add the orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla extract, folding gently until the batter is fully combined and smooth.
Divide and prepare for baking. Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans, tapping lightly on the counter to release any air bubbles.
Bake the cakes. Place the pans on the middle rack and bake at 400°F for 6–7 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 375°F and continue baking for 18–22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool completely. Allow the cakes to cool fully in their pans, then remove and slice each layer in half horizontally for layering in the trifle.
Make the Saffron–Orange Blossom Glaze
In a small saucepan, combine water and sugar. Heat gently until sugar dissolves (do not boil).
Remove from heat. Stir in saffron water, orange blossom water, and orange juice.
Let the glaze cool to warm or room temp before using.
You'll use this syrupy glaze to add moisture across the surface of each cake layer as you stick it in your saffron orange trifle.
Preparing the Saffron Phirni
Sift rice flour into a medium bowl. Whisk in cold milk to form a smooth slurry. Let rest 5–10 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix the xanthan gum into the sugar (this prevents clumping later).
In a medium saucepan, combine whole milk, along with your sugar, xanthan gum mixture, and pinch of salt. Heat gently over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until just below boiling (~70–80°C / 160–175°F).
Reduce heat to medium-low. Slowly whisk in the rice our slurry in a thin stream while constantly whisking to avoid lumps.
Stir in butter. Once incorporated, add your saffron water, rosewater, and ground cardamom seeds - adjust flavor to taste. Remove from heat.
Continue to whisk gently over medium-low heat for 10–15 minutes, or until the
custard thickens to a spoonable, glossy pudding consistency. It should coat the back of a spoon and fall in soft mounds when dropped.
Strain through a fine mesh sieve if desired for ultra-smooth texture.
Transfer to pans to chill in fridge until fully set (20–30 min).
To expedite cooling and setting time, you can use two pans, but scooping the custard into one pan works fine, too! It may just require a bit more time to firm up.
Whipping the Mascarpone Creams
In a chilled bowl, whip mascarpone and vanilla to medium peaks.
Gradually add powdered sugar and a cup of cream. Then, slowly stream in remaining 2 cups cream and whip to medium-stiff peaks.
Divide; flavor one bowl with rosewater, the other with orange blossom + zest.
Making the Fruit Gelatin
Bloom gelatin in cold pomegranate juice.
Stir into hot sweetened water until dissolved, cool slightly with ice, then pour over pomegranate or other berries of your choice in pans.
Chill in cake pans corresponding to the diameter of your trifle until set.
Assembling the Saffron Orange Trifle
Layer in a clear glass bowl, alternating cake and glaze, mascarpone creams, phirni, and gelatin.
Repeat until full, though midway, line the glass with sliced figs before adding in the trifle layer there. They look pretty through the sides of the glass once this is all set up, but they are optional!
Finish with pomegranate, pistachios, rose petals, saffron, and mint.
Here's a nifty diagram to show the layers as we stacked them. Depending on how thick you make each one, you can fit roughly 10-12 layers in an 8" dish!
💡 Pro Tips
- Chill the phirni and gelatin thoroughly before layering to keep distinct layers.
- Use a ladle or offset spoon for neat assembly.
- Don’t overspread the phirni or mascarpone. We recommend either piping it with a piping bag into the dish OR dolloping it with a spoon into the middle and spreading outward. This keeps layers clean at the edges.
- We quartered our pans of gelatin and added them into the trifle dish in segments. This made assembly easier, and nobody can tell once it's all together!
- If you have more layers and ingredients than you can use, divvy up the creams, custards, and cake into smaller containers for individual-sized trifles!
❓ Saffron Orange Trifle FAQs
It’s rooted in the classic Iranian flavors of many of the desserts and dishes from my husband's Saman's family. Saffron, rosewater, cardamom, and orange come together in this modern holiday dessert.
This was our first large trifle, but we adapted Sidi Joon’s cake (a family staple) with new layers. It came together beautifully!
Trim cake layers or use extra cream to fill gaps. A deconstructed version works too.
🥶 Storage & Make-Ahead Instructions
- This saffron orange trifle is best served within 24 hours of assembly, when layers are freshest.
- Components (cake, phirni, creams, and gelatin) can be made 1 day ahead and stored separately, covered in the fridge. If the mascarpone loses some of its airiness, you can rewhip it before adding it to your trifle bowl.
- Fully assembled trifle can chill for up to 6–8 hours before serving. Avoid longer storage or the layers may blur.
If you wish to serve this as a later date, you can also freeze it. The texture of some ingredients will certainly be different, but all the flavors remain delicious together. Remove from freezer to let thaw before serving, and scoop into individual serving dishes.
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More Desserts
Saffron Orange Trifle with Cardamom
- Total Time: 2.5 hours
- Yield: 1 8" trifle dish 1x
Description
From Hallmark Channel's Baked with Love: Holiday, this winning saffron orange trifle is inspired by Iranian flavors and recipes. Nooshe joon!
Ingredients
Orange Cake (Base Layer)
- 5 large eggs, room temperature
- 1¼ cup (270 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ~ 2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar
- ~ 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¼ teaspoon orange zest (from 1–2 oranges)
- ⅔ cup (150 ml) fresh orange juice
Saffron Water
- Generous pinch of high-quality saffron threads (~ ½ to ⅔ teaspoon) (preferably Iranian, widely regarded as the highest grade).
- (Optional) A tiny pinch of sugar or salt, for ease of grinding.
- About 6-8 small/medium ice cubes OR 8 tablespoons (≈120 mL) of very hot water (just below boiling)
Saffron–Orange Blossom Glaze
- ½ cup (120 ml) water
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1–2 tablespoon orange juice (fresh)
- ¼ teaspoon orange blossom water (adjust to taste)
- 1 tablespoon saffron water (⅛ tsp ground saffron steeped in 1 tbsp hot water)
Saffron Phirni à la Sholeh Zard (Custard Layer)
- 125 g rice flour (sifted, ~1 cup)
- 900 ml whole milk (divided in two portions of 450 ml cold + 450 ml warm)
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (225 g) granulated sugar (adjust to taste)
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum
- 2 teaspoon ground cardamom seeds (see notes)
- 1½ tablespoon rosewater
- 2–3 tablespoon saffron water (traditional ice-melt method)
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoon (30 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
Rosewater Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- 3 cups (705 g) heavy cream, very cold
- ~½ cup (135 g) mascarpone cheese, cold
- 1¼ cups (150 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1–2 teaspoon rosewater (to taste)
Orange Blossom Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- Use half the mascarpone base (above)
- 2 tsp orange blossom water (to taste)
- ½ tsp grated orange zest (optional)
Fruit Gelatin Layer
- ~3 cups (500 g) pomegranate arils
- ~3 cups (450 g) blueberries
- ~3 cups (500 g) blackberries or mulberries
- 32 g unflavored gelatin (4.5 packets)
- 300 ml liquid for blooming (water works, but we recommend pomegranate for more flavor)
- 700 ml water, heated (3¾ cups)
- Up to 250 ml crushed ice (1 cup)
- 3–4 tablespoons sugar or pomegranate molasses (optional, adjust sweetness)
- Pinch of salt
Toppings & Decoration
- Pomegranate seeds
- Crushed pistachios
- Dried rose petals
- Saffron threads
- Orange zest
- Figs (sliced, for sides of bowl)
- Fresh mint sprigs
Instructions
Orange Cake
- Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C). Grease and line two 8-inch pans.
- Cream butter until smooth, then beat in powdered sugar until pale.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing just until combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Fold dry ingredients into wet, then add zest, juice, and vanilla.
- Divide batter into pans, bake on the middle rack 6–7 min at 400°F, then 20–22 min at 375°F.
- Cool completely, slice in half for layering.
Glaze
- Heat water and sugar until dissolved. Remove from heat.
- Stir in saffron water, orange blossom water, and orange juice.
- Brush cooled cake layers lightly with glaze.
Saffron Phirni
- Sift rice flour into a medium bowl. Whisk in 450 ml cold milk to form a smooth slurry. Let rest 5–10 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix the xanthan gum into the sugar (this prevents clumping later).
- In a medium saucepan, combine 450 ml whole milk, along with your sugar, xanthan gum mixture, and pinch of salt.
- Heat gently over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until just below boiling (~70–80°C / 160–175°F).
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Slowly whisk in the rice our slurry in a thin stream while constantly whisking to avoid lumps.
- Continue to whisk gently over medium-low heat for 10–15 minutes, or until the custard thickens to a spoonable, glossy pudding consistency.
- Stir in butter. Once incorporated, add your saffron water, rosewater, and ground cardamom seeds - adjust flavor to taste. Remove from heat.
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve if desired for ultra-smooth texture.
- Transfer to containers to chill in fridge until fully set (20–30 min).
Mascarpone Creams
- In a chilled mixing bowl with the whisk attachment, whip mascarpone + vanilla until medium peaks.
- Gradually add powdered sugar + 1 cup cream.
- Stream in remaining 2 cups cream; whip to medium-stiff peaks.
- Divide mixture into two bowls. Fold rosewater into one, orange blossom + zest into the other. Chill.
Fruit Gelatin
- In a medium bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over cold pomegranate juice. Let sit for 5 minutes to fully bloom and soften.
- In a large saucepan, heat water (do not boil!) with optional sugar/molasses. Adjust to taste.
- Stir the bloomed gelatin into the warm juice-water mixture until completely dissolved and smooth.
- Cool slightly with up to 250 ml crushed ice and discard unmelted ice.
- Arrange fruit -- pat dried, evenly and loosely -- in a single layer on pans. Sprinkle salt over fruit, and pour gelatin mixture into prepared pans. Chill 45 min until set.
- To test for doneness, press lightly with your fingertip. The gelatin should spring back without leaving an impression.
Assemble the Trifle
Stack layers in the below order:
- Orange cake, with the glaze brushed atop it
- Orange blossom whipped cream
- Fruit gelatin
- Saffron phirni
- Repeat layering: cake, glaze, fruit gelatin, creams, phirni, etc. (10+ layers total).
- Finish with rosewater whipped cream, pistachios, figs, rose petals, saffron threads, zest, and mint.
Notes
- Ground cardamom seeds are the ideal kind of cardamom used here, as they are stronger than the powder you find in most grocery stores. But if you don't have access to seeds, cardamom in your grocery aisle's spice section will work. You will just need to increase the quantity and test the flavor to your liking.
- This dish would easily serve 10 people or more, depending on the size of each portion.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Layering and Decorating: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
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