I wanted texture in the trifle in the simplest way and the mini chocolate chips are just right. Another classic addition to Black Forest cake are chocolate shavings or even chocolate shards. The fourth layer is mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. In order to neatly add it to my taller glasses, I put the whipped cream into a Ziploc bag, snipped the bottom corner, and piped it into the glasses. I didn’t get a picture of the stiff peaks stage but you want the whipped cream to be firm enough to pipe and spread but not so firm that it turns to butter. Easy! “Bloom” gelatin and cold water before heating. Next, add it to to whipped cream that is at “soft peak” stage and whip until it’s at “stiff peak” stage. Let it “bloom” for a few minutes then heat until the gelatin is dissolved. Just mix a little cold water and unflavored gelatin together. You can also add unflavored gelatin which is what I chose in order to keep the pure taste of the whipped cream that is authentic to Black Forest cake. You can use a little cream cheese or a few tablespoons of instant pudding mix. There are many ways to stabilize whipped cream. I ate leftover Black Forest Trifle on day FOUR and it was still amazing. We can’t let that happen with our trifle because if you stabilize the whipped cream, it lasts for days. It gets soft and soupy if left for more than a day. If you’ve ever made homemade whipped cream, you know that it doesn’t last very long. Stir in a little almond and vanilla extract then cool completely before layering with the trifle. At that point, I like to mash the cherries slightly to make it more saucy. Don’t forget to add the sugar too!Īfter about 10 minutes, the cherries will start to “pop” a little and the liquid will get thick and syrupy. Just add your cherries to a saucepan, make a slurry out of cornstarch, water, and lemon juice, pour it over the cherries and cook. Making a compote sounds fancy but it is very very easy to do. It can get a little messy but it works so well and you can get through a bag of cherries really quickly. This is my favorite cherry pitter! It’s from OXO and I got it on Amazon. These fresh ones that I got from Lee’s Marketplace were from Washington state and were so incredibly sweet and perfect. You know what that means? You can make this ANY time of the year, not just during cherry season. Oh how I love dark sweet cherries! The great thing about this compote is that you can use fresh or frozen. It doesn’t have to be perfect! Cherry Compote for the Black Forest Trifle Once the cake is cooled completely, score it into small squares so that you can easily scoop it out for the layers. I chose this Triple Chocolate Fudge but you could use any boxed chocolate cake. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s clear so you can see the beautiful layers! Chocolate Cake LayerĪs with all of my trifles that I’ve shared, I made it very easy on us and used a box cake. You can layer them into minis or individual portions, you can use a trifle bowl, or a big clear plastic or glass bowl.

I’ll take you through each layer and show you just how simple and fun my Black Forest Trifle is to make. In fact, I have a neighbor that is from Germany and she gave it two thumbs up. I didn’t use sour cherries and there’s no alcohol in my trifle but each layer mimics the flavors of Black Forest cake and I’m here for it. That area is known for its sour cherries and kirschwasser, which is a liquer made from the cherries. What’s not to love about layers of chocolate cake, homemade dark cherry compote, fresh whipped cream and mini chocolate chips?īlack Forest Cake originates from Germany and specifically the “Black Forest” region in the southwest. Oh, and the most important thing? It was insanely delicous. Isn’t she gorgeous?!? My Black Forest Trifle was so much fun to create and to photograph. Thank goodness cherries are plentiful everywhere else because I really wanted to make this Black Forest Trifle that I’ve had floating in my head for a while. I mean, my town’s yearly 4th of July celebration is called “Cherry Days.” I have a gigantic Bing cherry tree in my backyard but it didn’t do well with this year’s drought.

It’s cherry season here in Northern Utah! Dark, sweet cherries grow so well here and we are kind of obsessed.

Black forest trifle