Chocolate Trifle

 
A potluck is the perfect excuse to make a rich dessert and know you won't end up eating the whole thing! I made this chocolate trifle for a party and it disappeared in no time. So delicious and fancy, and it took no time to make!

Chocolate Trifle

You will need:

Brownies - you can make them from scratch, or use a boxed mix

1 quart of Heavy Whipping Cream (to make Whipped Cream and Chocolate Whipped Cream)

4 Tbsp Sugar, divided
2 tsp Vanilla, divided

Chocolate - either 2 Hershey bars, melted and cooled, or 4 Tbsp hot cocoa mix, or 3 Tbsp cocoa powder and more sugar. 

The big secret to this dessert is the bowl. I don't own a lot of fancy serving dishes, but a trifle bowl is worth keeping around, to me. It can make anything look special.

Directions:

Make brownies and let them cool. 

For whipped cream: Pour about half of the cream, with 2 Tbsp Sugar and 1 tsp Vanilla into your mixing bowl with whisk attachment, and whip just until it you have stiff peaks. You don't want to overbeat the cream, or you'll end up with butter! Remove the whipped cream to a container and set aside.

For chocolate whipped cream: Pour the rest of the cream, 2 Tbsp of Sugar (double this if you're going to use unsweetened cocoa powder) and 1 tsp Vanilla into the mixing bowl and whisk again to make whipped cream. Once it's whipped, fold in the chocolate of your choice and mix well.

Assemble the trifle in layers - there's no wrong way to do this, just remember to use the sides of the bowl to show off the different layers, and save enough whipped cream for the top layer. 

I start with brownies in the bottom, then alternate plain and chocolate whipped cream around the sides. Then more brownies, then more chocolate whipped cream, and finally plain whipped cream on top. Garnish with chocolate bits if you like. I just used a veggie peeler on a Hershey bar. 

If you need to cover the bowl for travel, you'll want to be sure not to fill it up all the way to the top so you can cover it with foil without messing up your garnish. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Lemon Cupcakes

This year for her birthday party, Alexa wanted to have lemon cupcakes in addition to vanilla. She ended up not loving them, but I sure did and I think all of the other adults did too. My mom loved them so much she decided to make them for her birthday, too. :)

Lemon Cupcakes

1 cup white Sugar
1/2 cup Butter
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
1.5 cups Flour
1 3/4 tsp Baking Powder
Zest and Juice of 2 Lemons
1/2 cup Milk

Preheat oven to 350*. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.

In mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time, and then vanilla. 

Add flour and baking powder, mixing until combined. Add lemon zest and juice, then stir in the milk until it makes a smooth batter.

Spoon into muffin cups and then bake for about 20 minutes or until done. The tops will be golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake should come out clean.

Let cupcakes cool.

We frosted them with vanilla whipped cream - Whip heavy whipping cream in mixer with whisk attachment, or in vitamix. Add sweetener (I sometimes use liquid stevia but this time I used powdered sugar) and a splash of vanilla.

To enhance the lemon flavor, add a tablespoon of lemon juice and the zest of another lemon to the whipped cream. You may need to add sweetener - just taste it and add some if needed.

Berry Trifle

When I asked my kids what they wanted to make for dessert for the 4th of July, they said, "Something festive!" so this is what I came up with.

I intended to make homemade Angel Food Cake to go in the trifle, but all of the recipes I found called for 12-18 egg whites, and we recently used up most of our eggs in bulk cooking so we only had 7 available. I decided to go with my old standby white cake recipe that is easy and always delicious.

Berry Trifle

Trifles basically need 3 layers - cake, cream, and fruit. Often recipes will also call for pudding but I don't do instant pudding anymore, and I didn't feel like it was necessary to make pudding for this so I skipped it.

First, bake the cake. Here is my recipe for white cake:

White Cake

1 cup white Sugar
1/2 cup Butter
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
1.5 cups Flour
1 3/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 cup Milk

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease and flour a 13x9 pan. You can make this cake in 8" round pans as well but since I knew I was going to chunk it up, I just made a large, thin layer.

In mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time, and then vanilla. Add flour and baking powder, mixing until combined. Stir in the milk until it makes a smooth batter.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. Cool.

Once the cake is cool, wash and slice the berries and whip the cream. Here is my method for making homemade whipped cream that is so quick and easy: Easiest Homemade Whipped Cream

Layer everything into a trifle bowl. I start with whipped cream, and then add fruit, making sure to press it up against the sides of the bowl so it's visible. Then cake, then whipped cream, fruit, cake and finally top with whipped cream. Then decorate the top however you like with extra fruit. 

Strawberry Shortcake Shortcuts

My daughter wanted Strawberry Shortcake for her birthday treat, so I whipped up these little Shortcuts. They were a hit!

White Cupcakes

1 cup white Sugar
1/2 cup Butter
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
1.5 cups Flour
1 3/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 cup Milk

Preheat oven to 350*. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.

In mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time, and then vanilla.

Add flour and baking powder, mixing until combined. Stir in the milk until it makes a smooth batter.

Spoon into muffin cups and then bake for about 20 minutes or until done. The tops will be golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake should come out clean.

Let cupcakes cool.

Whip heavy whipping cream in mixer with whisk attachment, or in vitamix. Add sweetener (I use liquid stevia but sugar is classic) and a splash of vanilla.

Frost each cupcake with whipped cream and add chopped strawberries. Done!

Chocolate Cake with Berry Filling

My son has requested this cake as his birthday cake more than once, and I just made it for my husband's birthday.  We first had it at a friend's house (also a birthday cake) and now it's a family favorite!


Chocolate Cake with Berry Filling

For Cake:
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
2/3 cup Cocoa
3 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar
2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp Vanilla
1/3 cup Oil
2 cups Water

For Filling/Topping:

1 pkg frozen Raspberries or Strawberries
1-2 cups Powdered Sugar

1 pint Heavy Cream for whipping
Fresh strawberries or raspberries


Preheat oven to 350*. Grease and flour two round cake pans. 

Mix ingredients together in mixer, and pour into prepared cake pans.  Bake at 350* until done (about 20 minutes), cool completely and refrigerate.

For filling, puree thawed and drained berries with powdered sugar (1-2 cups) and about 1/4 cup cocoa to get frosting consistency. 

Spread on bottom cake layer and refrigerate. Top with top cake layer, using toothpicks to hold the layers together as needed.

 
Whip cream with a little sugar and vanilla to frost. Top with fresh berries and drizzle with chocolate or sprinkle with mini chocolate chips or shaved chocolate bar.