Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Triple-Chocolate Peppermint Trifle Get into the holiday spirit with this decadent layered dessert that's a make-ahead wonder. Close Credit: Jason Donnelly Servings: 10 to 12 Jump to recipe Trifle is a layered dessert traditionally made with sponge cake or cookies, pudding, and lots of whipped cream. Each layer has its own texture and flavor, each pairing perfectly with the next. Our chocolate-peppermint trifle is a holiday-ready dessert made with three kinds of chocolate—milk chocolate, white chocolate, and cocoa powder. That’s not even counting the chocolate-flavored liqueur that is brushed over the cakes. The layers in a trifle need time to settle so trifle is a wonderful make-ahead dessert. As it chills, the cake soaks up the spiked simple syrup and all of the flavors to meld. Your holiday guests will think you just sauntered right out of the Great British Baking Show tent with this one. 14 Impressive Holiday Trifle Recipes That Are Easy to Make The Trifle Layers Layers are what make a trifle the dessert it is, so it’s crucial that each one is made right. Luckily, while there are quite a few components to this dessert, each one is very easy to make. Everyone from beginner cooks to dessert experts can make this recipe. Cocoa Sponge Cake The cake layers are a fairly traditional sponge cake. Before incorporating the sugar and dry ingredients, the eggs are whipped until light and voluminous. The milk and butter are brought to a boil, and then slowly drizzled into the cake batter. This produces a light, airy sponge gently flavored with just the right amount of cocoa powder. Once it has cooled, cut the cake in half horizontally to create two individual layers. Spiked Simple Syrup Simple syrup is a versatile concoction, often used to sweeten cocktails or iced coffee or tea. It’s also one of the simplest things to make. All you do is boil sugar and a liquid, often water, together until the sugar dissolves. For this spiked simple syrup, we also stir a one-third cup of chocolate-flavored liqueur into the syrup at the end. The liqueur makes the simple syrup rich and smooth. It’s brushed over the layers of chocolate cake, which is moist and porous enough to soak it right up. White Chocolate Mousse This mousse is non-traditional for a few reasons. First, it’s made with white chocolate. And second, it’s prepared a little bit differently (read: more easily). A classic mousse is usually made with eggs, but this recipe only uses heavy cream and white chocolate. The white chocolate is chopped up and blended in a food processor with some of the cream, which is warmed up on the stovetop. Once smooth, place the mixture over an ice bath and let it cool enough that it holds stiff ribbons on the surface. From there, whip the rest of the heavy cream to stiff peaks and fold it into the white chocolate mixture to create a luscious, light-as-air mousse. Stir in some crushed peppermint candies for that holiday flair. Milk Chocolate Pudding The creamy milk chocolate pudding acts as a contrast to the airy mousse. Egg yolks are tempered with boiled cream, then the mixture is simmered until it reaches a pudding-like consistency. Don’t worry about getting any bits of cooked egg in the pudding mixture–it is passed through a sieve into a bowl with the milk chocolate, so it all melts together into a delectable chocolate custard. To prevent a skin from forming as the pudding chills in the refrigerator, be sure to place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Toppings The toppings for this trifle are simple. Lofty layers of whipped cream are swirled over the top, followed by a generous sprinkle of chopped peppermint candies. How to Serve Trifle Presentation is key with trifle. That’s why we always recommend assembling a trifle in a high-sided glass dish. Individual clear glasses work just as well if you want to make individual portions. Three layers are ideal. That way, each scoop will have a little bit of everything and you’ll still be able to see each individual layer clearly. There’s nothing fancy when it comes to serving. Just grab the biggest spoon you can find, and scoop portions of trifle onto dessert plates. Serve with spoons. Making Chocolate Peppermint Trifle Ahead This trifle should be made in advance—it will only get better as it sits. Twelve hours ahead is ideal, but even a day or two later, the trifle will still be delicious (though the cake will become soggy the longer it sits beneath the other components. To streamline prep, you can also make all the components of the trifle except for the whipped cream topping a day before you assemble the trifle: Wrap the cake tightly with plastic wrap and store it at room temperature. Place the syrup, mousse, and pudding in separate airtight containers and refrigerate. Give the pudding and mousse a stir or whisk before assembling to loosen them up a bit. Directions Credit: Jason Donnelly Preheat oven, prep cake pan, and heat milk and butter: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment paper; coat with cooking spray. Bring milk and butter almost to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, and set aside. Whisk dry ingredients; beat eggs: Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Put eggs into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until pale and fluffy. Credit: Jason Donnelly Add sugar, then vanilla, then hot milk mixture: Gradually add sugar, beating until pale and thick, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add hot milk mixture in a slow, steady stream. Credit: Jason Donnelly Add flour mix, then pour batter into pan and bake: Add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Pour batter into pan. Bake until center springs back when lightly touched, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and halve cake: Let cool in pan on a wire rack 20 minutes. Turn out onto rack. Remove parchment; let cool completely. Halve cake horizontally. Credit: Jason Donnelly Make the syrup: Bring sugar and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Let cool completely. Stir in liqueur. Credit: Jason Donnelly Make the mousse: Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Bring 1 cup cream just to a boil in a small saucepan. Place white chocolate in a food processor; with machine running, pour in hot cream in a slow, steady stream, and process until smooth. Cool mousse: Transfer to a medium bowl set in ice-water bath. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to hold ribbons on surface, about 15 minutes. Credit: Jason Donnelly Beat remaining cream and fold in chocolate mixture and candies: Beat remaining 1 1/2 cups cream to nearly stiff peaks. Fold into chocolate mixture, then fold in candies. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until thickened and almost firm, 4 to 6 hours. Credit: Jason Donnelly Make pudding: Put chocolate into a large bowl; set aside. Bring cream almost to a boil in a small saucepan. Whisk yolks in a bowl. Pour in hot cream in a slow, steady stream, whisking. Credit: Jason Donnelly Return mixture to pan and cook: Pour mixture back into pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 1 minute. Pour through sieve into chocolate; whisk, then chill: Pour through a fine sieve over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Set bowl in ice-water bath. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to hold ribbons on surface, about 15 minutes. Place plastic wrap directly on surface; refrigerate until set, about 3 hours. Credit: Jason Donnelly Start assembling trifle: Remove mousse from refrigerator and whisk using a hand mixer until thick and spreadable. Spread one-third of mousse into bottom of trifle bowl. Top with cake layer, and brush with half syrup. Top with half of pudding, then another third of mousse. Credit: Jason Donnelly For this recipe you need a glass trifle bowl that is 8 to 10 inches in diameter. (If it is 8 or 9 inches across you will need to trim the cake to fit it.) Finish assembing trifle and chill: Place remaining cake layer on top; brush with remaining syrup. Top with remaining pudding, then mousse. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 12 hours. Credit: Jason Donnelly Beat cream and use to top trifle Whisk cream and sugar until soft peaks form. Top trifle with the whipped cream, and sprinkle with candies. Credit: Jason Donnelly Storing Chocolate Peppermint Trifle To store the trifle, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap in the trifle bowl and refrigerate for up to two days. Other Triple Chocolate Recipes to Try Triple-Chocolate Ice-Cream Cake Triple-Chocolate Cheesecake Big-Batch Triple Chocolate Brownie Bars Triple-Chocolate Mousse Cakes Triple-Chocolate Brownie Cups Updated by Riley Wofford Riley Wofford Riley Wofford is a recipe developer, food stylist, and writer with over 15 years of experience and holds a Professional Culinary Arts diploma from the International Culinary Center. In addition to decorvow.com, Riley's work can be found in TODAY.com, Delish, Food52, and Marley Spoon.