Our easy Chocolate Trifle recipe is every chocolate lover’s dream dessert! Filled with decadent layers of chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, whipped cream, crushed candy, and topped with more toffee bits for the perfect finishing touch.
Chocolate Trifle Recipe
This Chocolate Trifle is prepared lasagna-style (like a Punch Bowl Cake or dessert lasagna), with a base of moist cake cubes covered with creamy chocolate pudding, followed by fluffy whipped topping, and finished with crushed Heath candy bars. Each layer adds its own distinct flavor and texture, creating everyone’s favorite dessert that’s both beautiful and delicious.
Chocolate trifle is ideal for feeding a crowd, combining a trifecta of indulgence, versatility, and visual appeal. Plus, it’s easy to customize to suit dietary needs or flavor preferences, from adding fresh fruit or caramel to incorporating gluten-free or dairy-free ingredients. Whether you’re hosting a formal dinner or a casual potluck, a chocolate cake trifle is guaranteed to leave a lasting impression.
Looking for more ideas? I have so many easy trifle recipes to help you create a stunning dessert centerpiece!
Ingredients for a Decadent Chocolate Trifle
- Chocolate cake: I used a box of chocolate cake mix (plus egg, water, and oil), baked according to the instructions for 9×13 pan. Feel free to use your favorite chocolate cake mix, a brownie mix, or bake a homemade cake from scratch. Gluten free cakes work great too!
- Frozen whipped topping: You can also use Cool Whip or make your own homemade whipped cream from scratch.
- Instant chocolate pudding mix: Make sure you use instant pudding mix and not the cook-and-serve kind.
- Milk: Whole milk or 2% milk works best for this recipe. Milk alternatives do not work well as they affect how the pudding sets up.
- Heath bars
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make the Ultimate Chocolate Trifle
- Cut The Cake: Cut the baked cake into small 1-inch squares.
- Prepare The Pudding: Whisk together the dry pudding mix and milk until thick.
- Assemble: Place pieces of cake cubes into the bottom of a trifle bowl or glass large bowl. Spoon and spread the pudding mixture over the cake layer, followed by a layer of whipped cream. Sprinkle with crushed candy bars.
- Repeat: Repeat the layers of cake, pudding, whipped cream, and candy bar chunks on top.
- Serve: Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1-2 hours before serving. Enjoy!
Variations of Chocolate Trifle to Try
The days of traditional trifles are long gone! There are countless ways to get creative and put a unique twist on your trifle, making it a versatile treat for any occasion!
- Brownie Chocolate Trifle: Swap the cake cubes for fudgy brownie chunks. The denser texture of brownies pairs beautifully with creamy pudding and whipped topping for a decadent twist.
- Cookies and Cream Trifle: Use crushed Oreos as a layer, alternating with chocolate pudding and whipped topping. Then add some full-sized sandwich cookies on top.
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Trifle: Add layers of peanut butter mousse or a drizzle of peanut butter between the chocolate pudding and whipped topping. For extra crunch, sprinkle chopped peanut butter cups, Reese’s Pieces, M&M’s, Butterfingers, or crushed pretzels in the layers.
- Fruity Chocolate Trifle: Feeling fruity? Fresh fruits like strawberries, raspberries, or bananas add a burst of freshness and balance the richness of the chocolate. A layer of fruit preserves or compote can enhance the flavor further.
- S’Mores Trifle: I love an indoor s’more! Layers graham cracker crumbs, chocolate pudding, and marshmallow fluff, and top with Hershey’s chocolate bars.
- Double Chocolate Trifle Dessert: Alternate layers of dark chocolate pudding with white chocolate mousse, custard, or pudding for a striking visual and flavor contrast. You can also lightened it up by swapping the chocolate cake with layers of sponge cake. Top it with chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, or any other topping you love!
Tips for Serving and Storing Chocolate Trifle
- Skip a Step: Want to make this an even easier recipe, go to your grocery store bakery and grab a pre-made cake!
- Cool The Cake: Make sure that you give your baked cake time to cool off before using it to assemble the trifle. You don’t want to melt the whipped topping or pudding by using a warm cake.
- Slice The Same Size: Be sure the cake cubes are uniform in size and tightly fitted to form a sturdy base for your trifle.
- Pretty Presentation: Find a beautiful trifle bowl (I love this one) with a pedestal so you can see all of the gorgeous layers. If you want one that is more portable, check out this version with a lid.
- Make Them Mini: I don’t blame you if you don’t want to share your trifle treat! For individual trifles, swap the trifle dish for mason jars and make them mini-size (like my S’mores Trifle).
- Storing Suggestions: This trifle is best served chilled. It can be refrigerated and lightly covered with plastic wrap for up to 3 days. Please note that the longer this sits, the softer the cake will become from the moisture in the pudding and cool whip layers. This dessert is not suitable for freezing.
- Make It Ahead: You can make this trifle a few days ahead of time. This recipe calls for a minimum of 1-2 hours in the refrigerator before serving to allow the cake to soak up the chocolate flavors. The longer the trifle is chilled, the better the ingredients will have to meld. It’s a great make-ahead dessert recipe.
Other Easy Chocolate Desserts
- S’mores Cookies
- Death By Chocolate Poke Cake
- Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Lasagna
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- No-Bake Oreo Dessert
- Brookies (Brownie and Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars)
If you tried this Chocolate Trifle Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!!!
Chocolate Trifle
Ingredients
- 1 chocolate cake (baked per box instructions for 9×13 pan)
- 12 ounce tub of frozen whipped topping slightly thawed
- 7.8 ounce instant chocolate pudding
- 4 cups milk
- 5-6 Heath candy bars crushed into small chunks, divided
Instructions
- Cut the baked cake into small cubes about 1 to 1 ½ inches in size.
- Place the dry pudding in a medium size bowl and add the milk. Mix with a mixer for two minutes or whisk by hand until thick.
- In the trifle bowl place half of the pieces of chocolate cake pressing gently to fill in any gaps.
- Next take half of the pudding and spread over the cake layer.
- Sprinkle with half of the crushed candy bars.
- Spread half of the whipped topping on top of the crushed candy bars
- Repeat layers with cake, pudding, final topping of whipped topping and then candy bar chunks on top.
- Chill for 1-2 hours before serving.
Jenn’s Notes
- You can sprinkle candy bits a little bit on each layer. Just be sure to save a few for the garnish on top of the final whipped cream topping layer!
- Make sure that you give your baked cake time to cool off before using it to assemble the trifle. You don’t want to melt the whipped topping or pudding by using a warm cake.
Can i make this a day before I serve it and refrigerate over night?
Definitely! Just cover and refrigerate!
looks and tastes great