Black Forest Trifle

A decadent layered dessert made with chocolate cake, fresh cherry pie filling, creamy chocolate pudding and whipped cream.

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 2

Cook Time 30

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings servings

5 oz milk chocolate bar (sweet, I use Lindt) or hocolate chips (I use milk chocolate)
120 ml (½ cup) heavy cream
pinch sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Prepare the Pan - Spray or brush a 9 inch pan with oil. Line the base of the cake with parchment paper. Flour the sides of the cake pan with cocoa powder.
In a large bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix in the granulated sugar.
In another bowl, nicely whisk together milk, oil, egg and vanilla.
Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour the wet ingredients. Fold in gently till just incorporated. Pour over the hot coffee and gently (dont not whisk) mox everything until you see a smooth shiny brown batter with no streaks of white flour. The batter will be runny.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or untill a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. The cake will start to pull away from the sides slightly.
Take out of the oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Run a butter knife all around and take out the cake out of the pan on to a cooling rack. Cool completely.
Once cooled, you can store the cake in the fridge for 2-3 days. This cake freezes easily, just wrap the cake in a cling film followed by placing it in a large ziploc and freeze upto a month.
For trifle, cut up the cake into small cubes using a sharp knife.

In a small bowl, mix together cornstarch and water to make a slurry.Keep near
In a sauce pan, add the pitted cherries,water, sugar and lemon juice. Cover and set to cook on medium stove.
In about 5-6 minutes,you will see that the cherries will start to soften.
At the end of 8 minutes you will see a lot of liquid in the pot, these are cherry juices and moisture from sugar. It will be bubbly.
Reduce the heat to low and add the cornstarch slurry all at once. Immediately stir around (but gently else the cherris will break). i dont like to mash the cherries, we like them soft but whole.
Cook for 2-4 minutes, you will see the liquid will thicken up and the filling will resemble a thickish gel. Take off the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
Once completely cooked, store in an air tight jar.

Place the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate in a large bowl.
Warm up the heavy cream in a small pot or in the microwave. You will start to see bubbles on the sides of the pot. the heavy cream should not be boiling but should be very hot. Take off the stove and immediately pour over the chocolate.
Whisk gently untill all the chocolate is dissolved and it resembles a smooth chocolate syrup. Cool down to room temperature and then chill for 30-45 minutes.
Using a hand mixer, beat the chocolate mixtureuntill fluffy. Easy chocolate pudding is ready.

Place chilled heavy cream in a large bowl. Add sugar and vanilla. Using a hand mixer whip for 5-7 minutes or untill slightly stiff peaks begin to form.

In a karge trifle bowl or in individaul serving jars, layer the cake, cherry pie filling, chocolate pudding and whipped cream. You can repeat the layers to make large servings or have a single layer of each component.
Chill for 3-4 hours or till ready to serve. Top with whipped cream, chocolate shavings and some cherries. Serve.

I suggest making the trifle a few hours or a day ahead and store regrigerated. This gets dessert out of the way and also,the different flavors get a chance to meld togther.

Taste as you go and adjust the sweetness and intensity of flavors accordingly. If the cherries are too tart, add a bit of sugar to the filling. Adjust sugar in whipped cream as per your liking. Conversely, if filling becomes too sweet, add extra splash of lemon juice to balance the flavors.

Instead of chocolate cake, you could also use brownie pieces, or an even a layer of espresso-soaked ladyfingers for a twist on the classic recipe.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!