Our Chocolate Trifle (aka Death By Chocolate Trifle) is a rich and creamy dessert with layers and layers of chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, whipped topping, and Heath bars (or choose your favorite chocolate candy bar!) This delicious no-bake dessert will satisfy your sweet tooth and have you coming back for more!
Why We Love to Make Trifles for Dessert
- Easy to make – you basically are just assembling
- A creamy and light dessert that makes a great presentation
- If you ever have a cake fail – break it up and make it into a trifle
- Great leftovers! As the dessert chills in the fridge, it get super moist and creamy
- Very versatile! Easy to switch up the pudding, candy or flavors to change it up! (Fruit is delicious in a trifle recipe!)
Ingredients / Shopping List
- 1 chocolate cake (baked per box instructions for a 9×13 pan)
- 1 (12-ounce) tub of frozen whipped topping, slightly thawed
- 2 boxes (3.9 ounces each) of instant chocolate pudding mix
- 4 cups of milk
- 5-6 Heath candy bars, crushed into small chunks, divided
Variations / Options / Add-In’s
- Brownies: Brownies make a great subsitution in a trifle! Just follow the same instructions above to replace with brownie mix!
- Oreos: Let’s be honest, Oreos are great on just about everything. Just smash up about 10 – 12 Oreos and add them in place of the Heath Bars! I like to put some full Oreo’s on top of the Cool Whip.
- Candy Bars: You can really use any type of candy as well! We love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Reese’s Pieces, M&M’s, Butterfingers and even chocolate chips!
- Fruit: I love adding some fruit to my trifle. Some of our favorite fruit additions are strawberries, bananas and blueberries!
- Skip a Step: Want to make this an even easier recipe, go to your grocery store bakery and grab a pre-made cake!
SEE FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD BELOW
How to Make a Chocolate Trifle
- Bake your cake following the instructions on the box. Let it cool completely.
- Prepare the pudding by mixing it with the milk and set it aside.
- Cut the baked cake into small cubes and place half of the pieces of chocolate cake in the trifle bowl. Spread half of the pudding mixture over the cake.
- Sprinkle with crushed candy bars and add whipped topping on top.
- Repeat layers with cake, pudding, final topping of whipped topping and then candy bar chunks on the very top.
TIP: You can also top it with chocolate chips, chocolate syrup or any other topping you love!
- Chill the completed trifle in the fridge for about 1-2 hours before serving.
Tips
- You can certainly 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Simply put, a trifle is a dessert that is made by layering various ingredients, typically there is a cake layer, a cream layer, and usually a fruit layer. However, in this particular chocolate trifle we are swapping out the fruit for pieces of candy!
Trifle desserts are super easy to make and even more delicious. It’s a classic dessert that has been around for ages. They originated in England many, many years ago and were traditionally always made in a round glass bowl with four layers, usually including some sort of fruit, alcohol-infused cake and custard.
Now, trifles are made of all kinds of cakes and creams and they don’t always have fruit! People have taken this classic dessert and gotten creative, making it their own.
As I touched on briefly above, the days of traditional trifles are gone! You can get totally creative with which types of cakes and fillings you’d like to include in your trifle. This recipe is for a chocolate trifle, so it obviously calls for chocolate cake, but this is not set in stone.
You could follow this recipe exactly but swap out the chocolate cake for vanilla or red velvet cake or even brownies. Or you could use the chocolate cake, but switch up your pudding flavors. The options for mixing things up and changing the flavors are truly endless!
A trifle typically has about 3 sets of layers. But there are no rules – you can make your trifle as many layers as you like.
Same goes for the candy you choose to include in your trifle. This is totally up to you. Personally, I am a sucker for Heath bars, and I love the crunch that they add to this recipe. You can choose to use any type of candy that you prefer! You could also forego the candy entirely and use fresh fruit instead.
You don’t need much to make a trifle, but to really make this dessert a show stopper, I highly recommend a true trifle dish. If you don’t have a trifle bowl, any deep bowl with high sides will do. I have also made my trifles in individual wide-mouthed mason jars. It makes for an adorable display!
This homemade chocolate trifle is rich and delicious. Anyone who tries it is instantly in love. Trifles are easy to make, versatile, and they are about to become one of your favorite desserts to make for any occasion!
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)
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