Easy to Look Good: Making a Trifle

Back in December we were invited to a dinner celebration we couldn't attend, due to being out of town for the holidays. Then we were notified that it would be rescheduled, because so few people could attend. Sunday, while at church, I was asked if I had received an email from the host. I hadn't, and apparently the dinner was that night.

Because I like food and I might be slightly competitive, I knew I had to make something good with just the things in our house. The husband and I shared ideas and then I struck gold: a trifle, of course! Pretty easy to assemble and big on the presentation points. Despite taking cake decorating classes, I couldn't decorate a cake well enough to compete with the looks of a trifle. Not to mention the effort of decorating a cake is much, much greater than layering ingredients in a bowl.

I whipped up a chocolate cake mix cake, and while it baked I mixed up a box of vanilla pudding. I also pulled a container of whipped topping out of the freezer and let it soften in the fridge. We left the cake to cool and the pudding to chill while we went to choir practice, and with just a little effort when we got home, we had a good looking dessert!

The supplies were limited and so we threw out our standard recipe (chocolate cake, caramel, toffee, and whipped topping) and went with an Almond Joy version (chocolate cake, vanilla pudding + a half capful of coconut extract + coconut flakes, slivered almonds and whipped topping). I just layered those ingredients, in that order in my trifle bowl, twice. Then I topped it off with some additional almonds and coconut, to help people know what to expect inside.

And because I had some extra ingredients, I made a mini trifle in a drinking glass for the husband who does the dishes! If you feel really ambitious, mini trifles for dessert at a dinner party would make an amazing presentation.

We walked into the dinner to ooohs and awws and several comments on how beautiful dessert looked. And we ended the night with an empty trifle bowl- my measurement for a potluck food's success!

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