Berries

• Fresh strawberries or raspberries can be used either as layers in the trifle proper or as a garnish for the top of the layered dessert. You can simply leave the fruit as-is, slicing or quartering the strawberries if desired, or you can add sugar and perhaps a flavorful liqueur such as Grand Marnier or Chambord to moisten the berries and enhance their flavor. You can also experiment with other fruit -- kiwi slices would add dramatic visual appeal and work well when combined with strawberries. Or try blueberries for a red-white-and-blue trifle.

Jam

• You can try raspberry or strawberry jam in place of fresh fruit. This makes for a richer, heavier final product. Pureed frozen fruit is another possibility, either sweetened or unsweetened.

Chocolate

• Red velvet cake is essentially a reddish chocolate cake -- in old-fashioned recipes the reddish tint is provided by cocoa but many modern recipes resort to red food coloring. Chocolate is therefore a natural companion to red velvet cake in any recipe. Add chopped chunks of dark chocolate mixed in with the cake layer or use chocolate chips. White chocolate would also be acceptable here. Again, you can also use chips or chocolate shavings as a garnish for the top.

Custard or Pudding

• For the creamy filling, the traditional filling for a trifle is a cooked custard. You can substitute vanilla pudding, either cooked or instant. Some recipes suggest cheesecake-flavored instant pudding as a possibility as well. If you felt particularly ambitious, you could make a cheesecake filling from cream cheese or mascarpone and use that to fill the trifle. If you're a chocaholic, you can even use chocolate pudding.

Whipped Cream

• A layer of whipped cream is often used to top a trifle, but it can also be used as the creamy filling itself, as a lighter alternative to custard or pudding. Feel free to sweeten the whipped cream and add a flavoring such as vanilla extract.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Another alternative to whipped cream would be to use a cream cheese frosting. Red velvet cakes and cupcakes are traditionally frosted with cream cheese frosting, after all. This is best used as the final layer on top; interior layers made with frosting would likely be too rich.