Trifle was a traditional Sunday lunch dessert when I was a child. This Chocolate Orange Trifle recipe is my take on the version my mother made from tinned mixed fruit, jelly and fresh cream and is my go to recipe to use up chocolate cake offcuts or chocolate brownie leftovers. Chocolate Orange Trifle doesn’t need any fancy ingredients -just a few bought, ready made ingredients that are widely available.
You could always make a tray of chocolate brownies (just because!) and use a couple of them to make this trifle. Try my easy rich Chocolate Brownies made from just chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs, flour and cocoa or the latest variation, Condensed Milk Chocolate Brownies which includes condensed milk to give a chewier brownie. I like to trim the edges from my brownies so they all look the same (edges work great in this trifle recipe) but my daughter insists that brownies with the edge still on are the best – no trifle for her!
Inspired by Delia Smith’s Cheat’s Chocolate Trifle, my version hasn’t a cherry in sight as very few members of the family like them. We all love oranges though, and they make an excellent flavour combination with the chocolate. You can also add a little orange liqueur, eg Cointreau which enhances the orange flavour in the base.
It is a good idea to prepare the base, fruit and custard layer of this Chocolate Orange Trifle the day before you are going to serve it. Chill overnight then add the fresh cream topping just before serving.
To make your Chocolate Orange Trifle, crumble the chocolate cake or brownies into the base of a large trifle bowl.
Drain the mandarin oranges, reserving about half the juice from one tin. Add a tablespoon (or two) of liqueur, if using to the orange juice then pour this over the cake/brownie base until it is fully saturated with the liquid. Spread the mandarins evenly on top.
Whisk the custard and mascarpone together until smooth and no lumps remain. Melt the chocolate and stir gently into the custard mixture until thoroughly mixed. Spread this mixture over the oranges and chill for at least a few hours (or overnight).
Just before serving, whip the cream until thick and spread over, crumble some chocolate and sprinkle on top.
You can also make this trifle in individual serving dishes so everyone gets their very own trifle – it should make at least 8 individual ones.
Chocolate Orange Trifle
Equipment
- large trifle bowl
Ingredients
- 4 – 5 chocolate brownies or approx 150 g chocolate cake offcuts or leftovers
- 2 – 3 tins mandarin oranges in juice
- 1 – 2 tablespoons orange liqueur eg Cointreau
- 1 500 g carton ready made custard I like Ambrosia
- 1 250 g tub mascarpone cheese
- 200 g milk chocolate
- 500 ml whipping cream
- 1 small bar crumbly or flaked chocolate, to decorate
Instructions
- Crumble the chocolate cake or brownies into the base of the trifle bowl.
- Drain the juice from the mandarin oranges, reserving about half the juice from one tin. Add the liqueur to the reserved juice and pour this over the crumbled cake, ensuring all the cake is moist and saturated. You may not need all of the juice, especially if you are using brownies for the base as they are much richer than the cake.
- Spread the mandarin oranges evenly over the base.
- Place the mascarpone and custard into a large mixing bowl and gently whisk together until no lumps remain. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt – microwave on full power for 30 seconds, stir well and repeat as necessary. Gently pour the melted chocolate into the custard mix and mix well until thoroughly combined. Spread this mixture over the oranges and chill until ready to serve.
- Just before serving, whip your cream until thickened – you want it to be a little firmer than soft peak but not too much, it still needs to spread. Spread it evenly over the chocolate custard layer, sprinkle with crumbled chocolate and serve.