Chocolate Trifle = GOOOD!

Are you ready for a tasty dessert that takes pretty much no prep time, and very few ingredients? We thought so. Below is a basic trifle recipe (exchanging the normal sponge cake for a chocolate cake) that can be easily changed based on taste (and/or what is in your pantry).

Easy Chocolate and Pineapple trifle

Your favorite chocolate cake, cooled and cubed into 1/2-1 inch cubes
1- pkg. of vanilla pudding, made according to package
1 - 20 oz can of crushed pineapple in juice, drained, with juices reserved
1 tub of cool whip

Layer cake cubes in the bottom of a clear glass or bowl (if you're not worried about presentation, just use any glass or bowl).  Drizzle the cake cubes with pineapple juice to moisten.

Layer ½ - 1 inch of pudding over the cake.

Layer ½ - 1 inch of crushed pineapple over the pudding.

Layer cool whip over the top of the pineapple.

Top with chocolate chips.

Now eat!!

Cake notes:

We started with a cake mix, and instead of adding all the eggs and oil that the box called for, we simply added a small can of pumpkin. Bake as directed. This ups the fiber content, and lowers the fat and calorie.

You will most likely have cake left over. Put it in a freezer bag and you can use it for future recipes.

Pudding notes:

Portioning out the pudding was easy, we used an individual pudding cup instead of making a full batch of pudding (this is helpful if you only plan on making one or two trifles)

Presentation notes:

You can use a large trifle bowl and continue adding layers of ingredients until it is filled. This is good if you’re running short on time (or glasses) and have a bunch of hungry people waiting for dessert.

We found that martini glasses worked really well for a one layer trifle (both for presentation and individual portion).

Somewhere in the world there are individual trifle dishes (we are kicking ourselves for not having bought them when we found them). If you find them, you should get them!

Trifle notes:

Change up your flavors by using different cake, different fruit, and different puddings.

If you're feeling feisty, instead of using the pineapple juice to moisten the cake, use some flavored alcohol.

Get really fancy by make pudding from scratch, using fresh fruit, and whipping up some heavy cream, flavoring it with sugar and extract (or liquor) of your choice.

If you want to make Rachel Green’s version of trifle, add in a layer of sautéed beef, peas and onions (that’s right, we went old school and made a Friends reference)!!