Boozy Black Cherry Trifle
Trifle is the ultimate autumn and winter dessert for me. I know you can technically eat it at any time of year, but in my head it belongs firmly in the colder months, and especially at Christmas.
My mum made a trifle every single Christmas when I was growing up, so I think that’s probably where it comes from. Christmas dinner just wasn’t really Christmas dinner without a massive trifle afterwards. Even now, it’s one of those desserts that instantly makes me think of Christmas at home.
This one is a bit of a grown-up version.
I was sent a jar of Opies Black Cherries in Kirsch to try (PR product), and chocolate and cherries seemed like the obvious combination. Add in the Kirsch and you’ve got something that feels quite fancy, despite actually being ridiculously easy to throw together.
And ridiculously easy is important here because I am not a great cook. I can cook, obviously, because I’ve managed to keep four children fed, but I’m never going to be the person happily spending hours making things from scratch. If there’s a shortcut that tastes just as good, I’m taking it.
Hence the ready-made chocolate custard.
You’ll need
- 1 jar of Opies Black Cherries in Kirsch
- 1 large chocolate Swiss roll
- 2 tins of ready-made chocolate custard
- 1 tub of whipping cream
- Chocolate for grating over the top
How to make it
Cut the chocolate Swiss roll into slices and use them to cover the bottom of a trifle dish. I put some around the sides as well because it looks nice through the glass, but don’t worry about making it perfect.
Spoon some of the Kirsch from the jar over the Swiss roll. There’s no exact measurement here, just enough to soak into the sponge without absolutely drowning it.
Scatter some of the black cherries over the sponge, keeping a few back for the top.
Pour over both tins of chocolate custard. Yes, both. You want a decent layer of chocolate custard in there.
Whip the cream until it’s thick enough to spoon on top, then pile it over the custard.
Add the cherries you saved earlier and grate some chocolate over the cream.
Then pop it in the fridge for a few hours to chill and firm up.
That’s literally it.
There’s no baking, no making custard, no complicated techniques and very little opportunity to completely cock it up. Yet when it’s all layered up in a glass trifle dish, it looks like you’ve made far more effort than you actually have.
Chocolate, black cherries, Kirsch, custard and cream. Proper cold-weather pudding, and definitely one I can see making again at Christmas.
*Opies Fruits with alcohol are available from Morrisons from end October as well as independent retail stores. More recipe inspiration for how to use can be found at https://www.bennettopie.com/blogs/recipes.
