Like many of you, I grew up with trifle. My mom believed in traditional trifle. Admittedly my relationship with this traditional dessert is a love-hate one. As a youngster I wasn’t too fond of the look of the ‘messiness’ of the classic British trifle which usually consists of layers of cake, jelly, pudding & whipped cream, but I did somehow still enjoy the taste.
My inspiration for this recipe was two-fold: to create a beautiful recipe to take advantage of Cherry Season & to give you a dessert option for all your guests who might follow a special diet.
I didn’t want to this trifle to feel or look like a ‘special diet’ item, but is a fantastic dessert option that caters to (hopefully) everyone.
It is important to know that it is not sugar free, but it ticks all the right boxes if you are looking for a dairy-free, lactose intolerant, egg-free & also vegan. It still remains a decadent, less ‘messy’ version of a trifle. It contains no custard & no jelly.
This trifle is everything that I love about Black Forest cake – the icon of lusciousness, marrying rich chocolate, velvety (non-dairy) cream & cherries in a symphony of sweetness!
Feel free to replace the Orley Whip with real dairy cream or use cake flour if you like.
To Serve: I highly recommend using a see-through bowl for this recipe. Specifically, a trifle bowl so that everyone can see the gorgeous layers of the dessert! You can find a beautiful and affordable trifle bowl at Checkers – which is the one I used (only R199), Takealot or Yuppiechef.
Getting Ahead: It may seem like this trifle has many parts, but you can pre-make some of the elements & divide & conquer the elements between friends & family. You can ask someone to make the cake ahead of time & drizzle with the syrup. The coconut chocolate mousse can also be made a day or two in advance & poured directly into the trifle bowl – just cover and refrigerate.
When I made the first version of the trifle I didn’t double up on the Cherry Compote, but I’ve doubled up on the compote in this recipe so that you can either have one thicker layer of compote or two separate layers.
I have to mention that am not vegan, but I am very curious about food trends & I always want to serve food that all of my guests can enjoy.
Indulgence Redefined: Vegan Black Forest Trifle Delight
Equipment
- 1 Round Baking tin 18cm
- 1 Electric Mixer You can also mix the cake by hand
- 1 Medium Pot
- 1 Trifle Bowl
Ingredients
For the Coconut Chocolate Mousse
- 1 tin Coconut Cream
- 200 g 70% Lindt Dark Chocolate Lindt EXCELLENCE rangewith 70%, 85%, 90% and 99% Cocoa is vegan
- 1/4 cup Maple Syrup
- 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
For the Chocolate Cake
- 175 g Gluten-free flour
- 25 g Corn Starch (Maizena)
- 100 g Sugar
- 30 g Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp 1 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- 1 pinch Salt
- 60 ml Canola or Sunflower Oil
- 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Kirsch Sugar Syrup
- 60 ml Sugar
- 60 ml Water
- 60 ml Kirsch (Cherry Liqueur) If you don’t want to use Kirsch, simply substitute with 60 ml of water
Cherry Compote & Cream
- 1 tin Pitted Black Cherries
- 30 ml Corn Flour (Maizena)
- 45 ml Kirsch (Cherry Liqueur) Leave out if you like
- 375 ml Orley Whip Replace with dairy cream if required
To Serve
- 200 g Whole Fresh Cherries with stems in
- 50 g Dark Chocolate, grated
Instructions
Make the chocolate mousse layers:
- Place the chocolate, maple syrup and and two tablespoons of coconut oil over a double boiler and melt the chocolate over gentle heat. When the chocolate is melted, add the Coconut Cream. Stir the mixture until well combined. Pour into the bottom of your trifle dish. Cool completely and cover with cling film.
Bake the chocolate cake:
- Preheat oven to 180 °C & line the bottom of an 18 cm round baking tin with baking paper. Mix the flour, corn starch (Maizena), sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Add oil and sparkling water & mix with a whisk to combine, add the baking soda and apple cider vinegar last. Fill the batter into the baking tin and bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely then cut into small blocks.
Make the sugar Kirsch syrup:
- Place sugar and water in a small pan and stir for 3 minutes over medium heat. Remove from the heat, let cool slightly and then add the liqueur. Sprinkle the syrup over your cake.
Prepare the cherry compote & dairy-free cream:
- Drain the liquid from the pitted black cherries. Add to a medium sized pot. Stir in the corn flour & heat over medium heat until it thickens then add the (tinned) cherries & stir in the cherry liqueur. Remove from heat & let this mixture cool down.
- Whip the Orley Whip until it is completely stiff.
Layer your trifle:
- Check that your trifle bowl is clean & without any finger marks before starting. Also clean up any drops or splatters after adding a new layer. Aim for as neat layers as possible!
- Start with the chocolate mousse layer at the bottom – it will need a couple of hours to set. Now add a cream layer. Top with cherry compote. Next add some chocolate cake blocks. Add another layer of cherry compote, then cream & end off with loads of fresh cherries.
To Serve:
- Grate more dark chocolate & sprinkle liberally over the trifle before serving.
Images: Melanie Wessels for aZestyLife. Recipe Credits: Chocolate Coconut Mousse is by Amy Hoppy; Chocolate Cake by biancazapatka.