Strawberry Chocolate Trifle

Feeding a crowd without needing to fuss is exactly what this strawberry chocolate trifle delivers. You get layers and layers of delicious dessert, starting with hunks of chocolate cake, pieces of fresh strawberries, a strawberry glaze, whipped cream and chocolate frosting—twice over. Easy to serve and even easier to make, this chocolate strawberry trifle dessert is a masterpiece and can be modified any which way for all kinds of palates.

Ingredients for Strawberry Chocolate Trifle

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

• Chocolate cake mix: Our Test Kitchen pros tested the most popular chocolate cake mix brands to rank the best ones at the grocery store, from the fluffiest to the fudgiest. If you’re gluten-free, don’t worry, they found the best gluten-free cake mixes too!
• Strawberries: It’s important to take a moment to thoroughly clean strawberries and let them dry before assembling this trifle. Even soaking strawberries in salt water can draw out hard-to-reach bugs.
• Strawberry glaze: If you can’t find strawberry glaze in the frozen dessert aisle, strawberry jam works in a pinch.
• Whipped topping: Buy two cartons of frozen whipped topping from the store, then let them thaw before using.
• Chocolate frosting: Overwhelmed by all the options at the store? Here are the best chocolate frostings as ranked by our Test Kitchen pros.
• Shaved chocolate: To make chocolate shavings at home, take a chocolate bar and run a vegetable peeler down the skinny end. Move the vegetable peeler away from you, not toward your body.

Directions

Step 1: Bake and cool the cake

Prepare and bake the chocolate cake according to the package directions, using a 13×9-inch baking pan. After the cake is baked, allow it to cool completely on a wire rack before moving on.

Step 2: Create the first layers

Cut the room-temperature chocolate cake into 1-inch cubes. Try not to make them bigger than that or they won’t sit nicely in the trifle dish. Place half the cubes in a 6-quart glass punch bowl or trifle dish. Top the cake with half the sliced strawberries, then drizzle half the strawberry glaze on top. Finally, spread 3-1/2 cups whipped topping over the strawberry glaze.

Step 3: Heat the chocolate frosting

In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate frosting on high until pourable, 20 to 30 seconds, stirring often. Let the frosting cool slightly at room temperature. Drizzle half the chocolate frosting over the whipped topping.

Step 4: Finish assembling the trifle

Repeat the layers of chocolate cake, strawberries, strawberry glaze and whipped topping. If desired, drizzle the remaining chocolate frosting on top and sprinkle with shaved chocolate. Serve and enjoy!

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

Recipe Variations

• Use chocolate pudding: If you want the trifle to be a little lighter, substitute chocolate pudding (without heating it) for the chocolate frosting. Or, if you’re a huge chocolate fan, keep the chocolate frosting and use chocolate pudding in place of the whipped topping.
• Change up the fruit: Not a strawberry fan? Raspberries, pitted cherries or blackberries would work just as well in this dessert.
• Switch the cake flavor: While we suggest chocolate cake, you can really use any boxed cake mix flavor, or a different type of cake or base entirely. Vanilla cake, devil’s food cake, airy angel food cake, dense pound cake or even brownies can be used instead.
• Add extras: Feel free to layer in all kinds of mix-ins! Try chopped candy bars, crushed Oreos, toasted nuts (especially hazelnuts), a drizzle of Nutella or even some tiny-cut pieces of cheesecake.

How to Store Strawberry Chocolate Trifle

Cover the trifle tightly with storage wrap (so the whipped cream doesn’t absorb lingering fridge smells), then stash the trifle in the fridge. It can be kept for up to three days, but it will lose its integrity as the days go on. If you have only a little trifle left, transfer it to an airtight container to save fridge space.

Can you make strawberry chocolate trifle ahead of time?

Yes, this chocolate and strawberry trifle can be made about four hours before serving. Try not to make the trifle too far ahead or the layers will become soggy and the whipped cream may break its emulsion.

Strawberry Chocolate Trifle Tips

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

How do you turn this strawberry chocolate trifle into individual portions?

Instead of one big trifle, disperse the layers among glass cups for individual servings, building the layers just as directed in the recipe. Depending on the size of your glasses, you could probably get around 10 to 15 individual servings from this chocolate strawberry trifle dessert recipe.

Can you make all the components for this chocolate and strawberry trifle from scratch instead?

You absolutely can make all the components from scratch instead of buying them premade. Tap into our tasty chocolate frosting, chocolate cake, homemade whipped cream and strawberry sauce recipes as substitutes for their store-bought versions.

How else can you decorate this strawberry chocolate trifle?

Besides decorating the top of the trifle with chocolate shavings, you could arrange strawberry slices in a fun pattern or place a few chocolate-covered strawberries on top. If you added any mix-ins like chopped candy bars or Nutella, those would make fun toppings too.