Why I love making trifles

I am very lucky to have a large family and we try to get together as often as possible. Because there are so many of us, one person cannot cook all of the food for everyone so we always chip in when we are having one of our family gatherings. Over the years some of us have established our “usual's”.  It may change with the seasons, but overall everyone kind of has their staples. My Mom does deviled eggs, taco salad for the summer months, and green bean casserole (yuck) and sweet potatoes in the winter. For the past couple of years I have been bringing trifles. In the winter they are usually some sort of chocolate, peanut butter, or caramel. During the summer I go a little lighter with a fruit trifle like strawberry shortcake.

I really enjoy making trifles because while I am creating something delicious, it is also beautiful and I can use my creativity to “design” my dessert. I always consider what it is going to look like in the trifle dish. I admit that I am kind of cheating because people are "wowed" by the dessert just by looking at all of the beautiful layers in the glass bowl. Anything set on a pedestal is going to entice you, even if it is just a pile of brownies and cool whip.

I have recently begun experimenting more with my trifles. Whenever I cook I usually do not follow a recipe. I know with baking you need to have the exact measurements for technical execution, but other than that I usually try to wing it. I blame/thank my Father for this. He is a really good cook but he is always just throwing stuff together. I can do this with a trifle because of the different layers. I can make the brownie or cake according to the recipe and then wing it with the fillings and layers. It really is the perfect combination for someone who likes to cook and decorate!

Would it help if I looked at a recipe for the exact measurements? Probably. Do I make inedible crap sometimes. Yup. But this can happen even when you follow a recipe exactly. I made this brownie, pretzel, caramel mess one time and it turned out terrible. Tasted good, but was rock hard.  I followed the recipe exactly.

I started coming up with my own trifles because I was becoming bored with the recipes I was finding online. I always kind of know what I want to make based on the event/holiday and or who is going to be eating it. Searching for a recipe to match my idea was becoming annoying. It is good to use a recipe as a jump off point to get some ideas and then add your own twist. I'll either look for recipes as a base idea or back at trifles I’ve made and already know were a hit to take some of ingredients as ideas to help me create a whole new trifle.

I would like to share my favorite recipes with you. I may provide a link to some great online recipes or explain how I made my own. Trust me, everyone will salivate over your dessert before they even taste it simply because it is so pretty.  

• My Trifle Rules Whenever I am making a trifle I follow a few rules that I have come up with along the way. You'll find that I don't have too many measurements listed. I apologize if this bothers you, but like I said, I usually just wing it. Allow yourself to have fun and play with too!Think about your layers and how they will go together when you make a trifle.You don't want anything too mushy and of course all of the flavors need to blend together well. I also try to think of the visual construction of the layers and how they are going to look together. With any trifle there are usually 3 different types of layers.

"Base layer"

This layer goes on the bottom of the trifle dish and in the center to provide the structure. 

I like using brownies because I know that they will not be as absorbent as a cake. (I found early on that it is better to make the mix with 3 eggs instead of 2 because this makes it a little less dense and fudgy. There is already so much going on in the trifle, I don’t want it to be too rich of heavy). I have also found that angel food cake is good because of the crust it forms on top when you bake it. It provides somewhat of a seal so that the moisture from the other layers doesn’t absorb too much. I do not like using a regular cake as the base layer because I think it is too absorbent and will end up mushy.

Cookie layers work pretty well too.

“Mortar Layers”

I am calling these the mortar layers because it is what pulls everything together. Sometimes you'll want 2 mortar layers and sometimes you just need 1. If I am doing 2 then it goes...base, mortar, focal, mortar and then repeat. It is usually a cream, pudding or a mousse layer. I place this between the base layer and the focal layer.  This is also where you get your visual contrast from. If I am doing a brownie I try to do a lighter cream. If I am make a white cake trifle, than I usually go with a darker cream like chocolate pudding of mousse.

“Focal Layer”   

This layer is where the fun stuff comes in. Usually layers of candy, cookies or fruit. This layer adds the theme and color to the dessert. I always place this layer in the center before you begin to repeat layers and on the top as decoration to identify the Trifle. For example; a brownie and reese’s peanut butter cup trifle consists of peanut butter cups in the center and are then sprinkled on top.

This list will continue to develop as I learn more tips and tricks. Trifles are a very attractive dessert and always get a lot of attention, but they are incredibly easy to make. I will use any shortcut I can come up with to make it easier on myself because if it is a hit you will have to make it again and again, trust me. If you have any tips, suggestions or recipes please feel free to share them with us here!