I was at the dog park this week, chatting with my girlfriend who grew up in Oklahoma.
She mentioned she was craving a banana meringue pudding dessert popular in the south. It’s so easy to make, she said, it’s not that popular anymore.
That didn’t make sense at first — until I though about the trifle.
This centuries-old English dessert is exactly what my girlfriend was describing: it’s easy, it doesn’t require making anything, you don’t even have to turn on your oven or stove. Who wants to bring something like that to a potluck?
Me, actually.
The trifle — similar to the parfait — is a layered dessert, which traditionally calls for cubes of sponge or pound cake, often soaked in alcohol, fruits and vanilla custard. The taste is almost as important as the appearance, and this dessert even has its own trifle dish — glass and easy to marvel at.
No one makes trifle anymore, it seems. But it’s a go-to dessert for me, especially when I’ve got leftover cake and no room in my stomach to eat it.
So here’s my chocolate version of the English classic:
Leftover cake
Chocolate trifle
slightly modified from AllRecipes.com
Ingredients:
1 (19.8 ounce) package brownie mix (or leftover cake)
1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1/2 cup water
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (1.5 ounce) bar chocolate candy (or mini chocolate chips)
Directions:
Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and cool completely. Cut into 1-inch squares. (You can also cut up any variety of cake, too.)
In a large bowl, combine pudding mix, water and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until smooth, then fold in 8 ounces whipped topping until no streaks remain.
In a trifle bowl or glass serving dish, place half of the brownies, half of the pudding mixture and half of the 12 ounce container of whipped topping. Repeat layers. Shave chocolate onto top layer for garnish. Refrigerate 8 hours before serving.
9 Comments
Interesting. looks awesome. However,i know you’re a Seinfeld fan. So……when you say “leftover cake”, is this in the same ballpark as the ol’ re-gifting situation? just wondering. Sure looks darn good no matter how ya slice it.
LOL, nah, not like regifting. That was WAY too much cake for two of us! And we weren’t sharing with the dogs!
Cool Whip is NOT Whipped Cream. Ewwww… have you looked at the ingredients in Cool Whip?
I know, I know. But I was lazy. It was good, though. I don’t mind Cool Whip. I can eat that with just a spoon. 🙂
A dessert made using chocolate ganache cake as an INGREDIENT is beyond my level of comprehension. Just the thought of it caused me to gain a few pounds!
oldshoes – I think the term “leftover cake” is similar to “extra money”.
Alan
I couldn’t believe I even HAD leftover cake. Those things don’t usually last long in my ‘fridge!
Where’s the ice cream?
MMMM trifle!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx5Wpqf4-OM
I have a friend in the Carolina’s who mixes up a glass of mint julep(Southern Comfort and crushed mint) and uses that to soak the sponge cake for her Triffle. With chocalate I like to use Grand Mariner or Triple sec (if budget doesn’t allow GM)