Here is a dessert special I did the other day for work just using leftovers we had around. It is basically a miniature trifle in a mason jar. On the bottom I put some small pieces of coconut cake. I topped that with a fresh local strawberry compote, followed by chocolate cheesecake cream, then a lemon cookie crumble and a fresh strawberry. This made for layers of contrasting flavors and textures.
Chocolate Cheesecake Cream
Beat some cream cheese until smooth. Beat in some cocoa powder and sugar. Then gradually pour in some cream and keep whipping until the mixture is stiff.
I don't have amounts for this recipe - but I would say it's about equal amounts cream cheese and whipping cream. Then add enough cocoa powder and sugar to flavor.
Homemade angel food cake + homemade cherry pie compote + lemon pudding (from a box of course) + fresh blueberries + fresh strawberries = one delicious, classic summer trifle! Trifle is one of the easiest deserts to make - you can save time and use storebought ingredients, go all out and make everything from scratch, or simply use leftovers you have around. Trifle can be any combination of cake, brownies, or cookies, fruit, pudding, and extra toppings!
Black Cake Coconut Custard Trifle = leftover black cake + leftover rum-soaked fruit + leftover coconut caramel custard.
Steps
1. Tear the cake into bite-sized pieces
2. Place in bottom of a small decorative bowl.'
3. Drizzle with dark rum and sprinkle with rum-soaked fruit.
4. Top with coconut caramel custard.
5. Garnish with additional rum-soaked fruit and macadamia nuts.
6. Serve!
I call this almost mom's trifle, because when I made it, I took inspiration from the trifle my mother always made. There are so many variations on trifle you could do - even with this recipe you could use any type of cake, pudding, pie filling, and garnish. But my mother always used white pound cake, cherry pie filling, and chocolate pudding. No matter what, it is delicious and foolproof. This is a quick and easy version, but if you want a from-scratch version, use homemade cake, fresh fruit, and homemade pudding or custard. Here is Mom's real trifle: {Trifle}.
Almost Mom's Trifle
one prepared 9x13 inch cake, I used a vanilla boxed cake mix
it can be two round cakes, one bundt cake, whatever one recipe makes
one can cherry pie filling
one package instant chocolate pudding mix, prepared
one container frozen whipped topping, thawed
sweetened cocoa powder for garnish
Cut the cake into small cubes. Layer half of these cubes in the bottom of a large bowl or glass dish. Spoon half of the pie filling over top. Spread with half of the pudding. Repeat layers. Spread with whipped topping. Sprinkle with the cocoa powder. Chill for a few hours before serving. Trifle is even better the next day once the flavors blend together.
No, I really never stop talking about Black Forest cakes. After the two miniature versions I made on the weekend, I had some leftovers. So I decided to make a small trifle to use them up. This also gave me the opportunity to have a taste of my creations, even though I couldn't cut into the real cakes. Because I made one large rectangular cake and cut out six rounds from that, I had some cake scraps. Since the cakes were fairly small, I had some leftover cherry filling - both sweet and sour. I just used the entire carton of whipping cream, so I also had some leftover whipped cream, both spiked and simple sweetened. And I had some leftover chocolaty already grated, as well. So this is how I assembled the trifle:
The extra cake cut into cubes and placed in a medium-sized glass bowl.
Drizzled with the cherry juice to moisten. (Kirsch may also be used for an extra boost of liquor, but I wanted to use up the rest of the cherry juice).
Both cherry fillings dolloped over.
Whipped cream spread on top with a few rosettes. I spread the spiked cream on half of the trifle, and kept the other half alcohol-free.
Grated chocolate sprinkled on top.
If you have some leftover whole cherries, the can be used to decorate as well.
I haven't been baking or cooking much lately, so I will show you a dessert I made a while ago. This is a trifle I made using cubes of angel food cake, chocolate pudding, whipped cream, and chopped cookie-caramel chocolate bars. I layered these ingredients in order twice, but saved a little bit of extra pudding for the top. Then I put small dabs of pudding onto the top layer of whipped cream and used a knife to swirl it in. Very easy and simple, but it gives the trifle a very nice finishing touch. Trifle is an easy and quick dish to assemble that can use basically anything on hand. It is a dish that really sparks creativity!
There are many different versions, variations, and varieties of trifles, but this is our signature. We use a simple combination of pound cake, cherry pie filling, chocolate pudding, and whipped cream, layered in a large, decorative glass bowl. Usually we use store-bought pound cake, instant pudding mix, canned cherry pie filling, and prepared whipped topping (gasp!!!!) just for convenience. But this trifle would be truly delectable with from-scratch pound cake, homemade chocolate pudding, fresh cherries cooked and sweetened by hand, and real cream whipped to stiff peaks. You could also do a mixture of homemade and store-bought ingredients. It is hard to believe how tasty this dish can be with only four ingredients, but these ingredients can be varied endlessly, by changing the type of cake, flavour of pudding, and type of fruit filling.
