Black Forest Trifle
Also known as, “Bob’s Birthday Dessert” – my dad requests this trifle EVERY YEEEEAR for this birthday & Judy delivers.
So I grew up eating, anticipating & loving this delicacy! I would love to tweak it to be more “homemade” but that’s another effort & path for another entry – because for now, we’re making it the way it has ALWAYZ been done.
This trifle (in my humble opinion) is perfect for any & all winter gatherings. It doesn’t necessarily have the Christmas vibe, but hey, do you boo.
And just to let you know — this blog entry has ALLLLLL the pics of ALLLLL the steps / layers so never fear, lot of visual help *wink*
layerz, girl.
I just love the layers paired with a pretty bowl, a fizzling glass of champagne with all the “oohs & ahhs” this dessert will surely bring when it is served on the table.
I feel the need to say it – I don’t want ANYBODY coming for me saying some shit of “ohhh I thought you had taken a healthier turn in life” or “ohhhh this isn’t exactly scratch-made” – BITCH I KNOW. But the beginnings & bones of this entire blog page was built around the ideas to share FAMILY recipes from my life & nostalgic childhood…..so you can either get with it, or leave. Obviously I make that very clear with each & every blog entry in the event *someone* is perturbed.
I just like to give a disclaimer – luckily I’ve only gotten 2 not-nice emails & lots of Sugar Baby requests over the 2.5 years I’ve been doing this so….whatever, be damned.
Bob’s Black Forest Trifle
It was too much to fit my beloved father’s name in for my title, so a “section title” will have to do.
BACK TO BOB.
My dad’s birthday is January 20. Cold day. Dead of winter. Inauguration Day. Also the 366th LEAST popular birthday on a random chart I looked at recently. My birthday of April 17 was not far behind at 353 for LEAST popular birthdays – so clearly we deserve some extra special love on our birthdays – I tell you what, this dessert will deliver!
HOMEADE whipped cream laced with almond & vanilla extract, decadent chocolate cake & rich cherry pie filling (also spiked with amaretto) – are you sensing a trend here? I mean come on, with those ingredients, what can go wrong?
NOTHING! This dessert is literally foolproof and can be made the night before! ITS PERFECT on every level – because there are many of them! Get it? Cause it’s a trifle? & a trifle has layers?.....you know what, forget it.
I most recently made this dessert for a Galentines Tea party in 2023 and it was a huge hit! The colors, the richness, the chocolate – all my girly-pops loved it! It paired beautifully with our champagne & side of cheese plate and whatever other little delicacies we served that day.
I had wanted to post this as a Valentine’s inspo but we all know how that went. WHOOPS. Better late than never! There is still another month-ish or so until I personally feel this dessert has lost its entrance – aka WINTER. But then again….Easter is coming up & this would be beautiful on a table full of feast foods, friends & love. So without further adieu, Let’s Get To It!
Ingredients
• 1 Devils Food Cake Box Mix
• Amaretto, just bring the bottle (*wink)
• Heavy Whipping Cream, 1 quart
• Powdered Sugar, 10 TBS
• 2, 15 Oz cans Cherry Pie Filling
• 1 bar German Chocolate (green label)
• 1 TSP vanilla extract
• 1 TSP almond extract
Gadgets
• Rectangular Baking Pan
• Trifle Bowl
• Hand Mixer / Stand Mixer
• Handheld Zester / Grater
Instructions, 1
I feel like usually I’m a little hard-ass when it comes to my instructions so I just wanna say this….take yo time. This process should be fun, easy & minimal.
Let’s be forreal – you are baking a cake & you are layering it in a pretty bowl. DATS IT.
This is as LOW STRESS as it gets.
& before I really talk shit about myself, this is a BOXED CAKE MIX. Nearly impossible to mess up – you are just merely doctoring up this mix so just take a breath & DO IT!
Firstly, if you are going to make this trifle FROM START TO FINISH, then that’s great! Step 1 is to go ahead & put your Heavy Whipping Cream AND your chosen mixing bowl in the freezer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour – this will ensure your whipping cream is creamy & stiff & COLD – set a reminder for yourself.
If you are NOT making this trifle start to finish, then that is also great. Just give yourself enough time to pop the Heavy Whipping Cream AND chosen mixing bowl in the freezer 1 hour before you intend to whip it up!
((pre-made whipped cream will store in an air-tight tupperware container for 3 days))
NOW – Mix & Bake your cake according to the instructions on the box.
AS SOON AS your cake comes out of the oven, poke a milllllllion tiny holes in it with a toothpick and immediately (but gently) brush the top of the WARM cake with about ¼ cup of Amaretto.
OH YEA.
This cake is going to be SO tender & SO tasty with that extra moisture layer of Amaretto to soak in. It will be heavenly, I promise.
Allow your cake to cool completely, like 3 hours or so, before you start cutting & assembling.
The key here is you want your cake to be SLIGHTLY crumbly when you cut it, but not falling apart, that’s why letting it cool completely is so important.
This is also a really good example as to WHY this is so dang easy & can be made in advance.
If you have a party coming up in 3 days and you only have 1 hour each day, then consider this dessert your ticket – you can do small steps EACH DAY to ensure this cake gets built & is ready to be served beautifully!
Instructions, 2
OK OK back to the cake cooling & cutting.
Simply take a sharp knife & cut mini squares in your rectangular cake pan.
1x1 inch cubes is a great size – a little bigger won’t hurt but you want these bite size!
If you are ready to go ALL IN and start layering / decorating your cake, then HOLD ON.
Get your chosen trifle bowl / vessel & start with 1 generous layer of your chocolate cake cubes at the bottom.
Next, pour BOTH cans of cherry pie filling into a large bowl.
FOLD IN (stir) 2 TBS of Amaretto directly into the cherry pie filling.
Obviously, the Amaretto will give it extra flavor but it will also help loosen up the thickness of the pie filling so you can gently layer it overtop the chocolate cake.
Go ahead & do that now.
Simply spoon the cherries & filling little by little overtop the entirety of your chocolate cake cubes.
You will see that the cherries & the pie filling will act as a light glue and will drip down the sides & crevices of the chocolate cake cubes – it will be BEAUTIFUL.
Ok so now its time for the whipping cream.
You definitely want both the mixing bowl & heavy cream to be cold because you want it to be able to stand up to the layers of the trifle and not get watery or fall apart – trust me on this.
((The trifle will naturally soften for the 12-24 hours in the fridge if you are planning to make this THE DAY BEFORE your event – and that is perfectly ok! It will not get “soggy” or anything gross – it will simply relax & allow the flavors to really develop!))
Take your bowl & heavy cream out of the freezer – empty the ENTIRE quart into the bowl & have your mixer / hand mixer at the ready.
Beat on medium-high for about 2 minutes – you don’t want the liquid to slosh everywhere so give it some time to build up consistency before building speed.
Now empty in the measured Powdered Sugar & the 2 extracts – almond & vanilla. The extracts really break up the Amaretto flavor since you have already used it in 2 layers.
Using a spatula, gently fold in the powdered sugar to help it settle a bit.
Then return to using the stand mixer or hand mixer to finish the job – about 2 more minutes on medium-high speed.
You are looking for soft, pillowy but semi-stiff peaks (meaning the whipped cream will stick AND stand up on its own from the beater when you remove it from the bowl)
Again, you want this texture & consistency to be able to stand up to the other layers in your trifle.
Instructions, 3
Now its time for the fun part!
Take the spatula & by the BIG DOLLOP, gently & evenly spread your fresh whipped cream over the cherry layer.
VIOLA – your first SET of trifle layer!
Cha-Cha now ya’ll –
Repeat again with Cake, Cherry Filling, Whipped Cream.
Repeat the layers until your trifle bowl is FULL! It will be the most beautiful sight.
If you are serving immediately, then please be sure to END your final top layer with Whipped Cream.
If you are waiting to serve the next day, end your layer with Cherry Pie Filling & then top with Whipped Cream the next day so it won’t get flattened by your cover / plastic wrap.
Final layer is the sprinkling / shaving of German Chocolate with your little grater or zester – dear LORD it is beautiful.
I also like to save a scoop or two of cherries & of filling as my topper as well and stick a full square of chocolate on top for EXTRA decadence.
I mean come on, plus its pretty.
Serve & enjoy!
Black Forest Kirsch
Of course my little brain has ALWAYS wondered why & how this dessert got its name.
Since I was born & grew up in Germany, I always assumed it was because this is a traditional German dessert (kinda) and because of the Black Forest in Germany (no).
There are SOUR cherries & a SOUR liquor called “Kirsch” and this dessert is traditionally centered around that.
I mean, I get it – rich, bitter German Chocolate, bursts of bright sour cherry & super sweet whipping cream to even it all out….I’ve never had that version before but I’d certainly be willing to try it!
Be sure to listen hard for the smacking of the lips & the “mmms” that are sure to come by everyone tasting this dessert. What a banger! I’m soooo excited to share this family gem with you!
Galentines or Valentines is the perfect opportunity to go the extra mile to make this beautiful dessert. So is a winter birthday! The pop of red & the warm inviting taste of this cake will be sure to excite anyone who’s birthday is in the dead of winter – get that sunshine where you can, amirite?
Thanks for stopping by!
I appreciate you stopping by! If you loved it, I’d love to hear from you.
If you hated it, then same.
Have a great day & look for my next entry!
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