Heaven & Hell Trifles

Light and airy, but decadently rich.  Fluffy and sweet vanilla cream and angel food cake layered with triple-chocolate pudding and ribbons of dark chocolate ganache, these contradictory Heaven & Hell trifles are the perfect dichotomy and everything you could ever want in a dessert.

Most fairy tales tell a story of good versus evil.  Of an innocent princess and a wicked sorceress.  A brave-hearted knight and a fire-spewing dragon.  A gentle mermaid and a conniving octopus dressed in drag.

We love a story where good triumphs over evil, balance is brought to the Force, all is right in this world once again. The stories are told and retold out of an intrinsic need to restore balance, and because sometimes we can only appreciate good when we see it starkly presented against evil.  Without a dark and menacing presence, we’d hardly be interested in the story of a princess who never worried about pricking her finger on a spindle, a knight who never saw battle, or a mermaid who brushed her hair with forks.

These trifles evolved from that need for balance. Without the dark parts, the light would be good, but not excellent. Without the light angel food and homemade whipped cream, the dark would be too heavy and just too much.

But side by side, they tell a delectable story.

The light vanilla portions of this cake are your princesses – fluffy angel food cake that soaks up the ingredients on either side of it, as delicate and melt-in-your mouth as cotton candy.  Whipped cream with flecks of real vanilla bean (more on that below) — no store-bought imitation can beat the taste of cream whipped to stiff peaks in your own kitchen.

The chocolate parts are intense, bold, sinister, and rich without making this generously portioned treat too rich.  The pudding is made with no less than three different kinds of chocolate — it is powerful and decadent against the airy ingredients, the ganache is heavy and has nearly bitter notes of dark chocolate (all the better to appreciate the whipped cream).

While these trifles might be an edible symphony of light vs dark, the ingredients used all play roles as the heroes and heroines of this edible storybook.

After hearing really, really great things about Rodelle products all over the blogosphere a few months ago, my interest was piqued and I started using their vanilla extract.  I loved it, and the philosophy behind the company (an 80 year history of high standards for nothing but the most superior, gourmet ingredients) and their belief in environmentally friendly, sustainable practices, so I reached out to them about trying some of their other products.

After a lot of kitchen experimentation with vanilla paste (I wish you could smell it through the computer, it is rich and exquisite), chocolate extract, and baking cocoa (and a determination to find a way to use all three ingredients together), these trifles were born.

Not pictured: my well-used bottle of vanilla extract, which I’ve effectively stained with chocolate and was not nearly pretty enough to photograph at this point in its life

Light and dark, good and evil, heaven and hell, these trifles tell an age-old tale of yin and yang in the tastiest story ever told.

Rodelle provided me with products to experiment with, which I used to make these trifles — all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Heaven & Hell Trifles

Light and airy, but decadently rich. Fluffy and sweet vanilla cream and angel food cake layered with triple-chocolate pudding and ribbons of dark chocolate ganache, these contradictory Heaven & Hell trifles are the perfect dichotomy and everything you could ever want in a dessert.

Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

• One Angel Food Cake homemade or store-bought - see notes for my favorite recipe

Triple Chocolate Pudding

• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Rodelle Gourmet Baking Cocoa Powder
• 2 Tbsp corn starch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 5 large egg yolks
• 2 cups milk
• 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 oz semisweet or dark chocolate finely chopped
• 1 tsp Rodelle Organic Chocolate Extract

Vanilla Whipped Cream

• 2 cups heavy cream cold
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Rodelle Vanilla Paste

Chocolate Sauce

• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp Rodelle Gourmet Vanilla Extract

Vanilla Whipped Cream

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Rodelle Vanilla Paste

Instructions

Pudding

1. Will need to chill at least 4-6 hours before serving.
2. In medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt.
3. Add egg yolks, milk, and heavy cream.
4. Transfer saucepan to stovetop over medium-high heat and whisk ingredients together.
5. Whisk ingredients continuously on Medium-high heat until mixture begin to thicken -- as soon as mixture begins to bubble (begins to come to a boil), remove from heat and stir in finely chopped chocolate and butter.
6. Whisk until ingredients are smooth and the chocolate and butter are completely melted.
7. Allow to set for five minutes then stir in chocolate extract.
8. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a large, heatproof bowl and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
9. Cover the chocolate with clear wrap. Be sure to lay the clear wrap so that it is in direct contact with the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Allow chocolate pudding to cool to room temperature (or at least for 30 minutes) before transferring to refrigerator to chill for 4-6 hours.

Whipped Cream

1. In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer and a large bowl), whisk together heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla paste on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.
2. Pour into a large pastry bag fitted with a star tip (or you may also use a large Ziploc bag with a corner snipped off -- this will be less decorative).
3. Set aside.

Chocolate Ganache

1. Prepare ganache by combining chocolate and heavy cream in a small saucepan.
2. Melt, stirring frequently, over medium-low heat until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside -- allow to cool at least 10-15 minutes before using in trifle.
3. Prepare Angel Food Cake for trifle by cutting into slices and then cutting or tearing into bite-sized pieces.

Assembly

1. Spoon an even layer of pudding into the bottom of each glass (about 1/2" deep).
2. Cover with a layer of Angel Food Cake pieces
3. Generously drizzle ganache over cake.
4. Pipe a layer of whipped cream over ganache.
5. Top with another (slightly thinner) layer of chocolate pudding.
6. Repeat with another layer of angel food cake, then ganache and then top generously with whipped cream.
7. Drizzle with remaining ganache, if desired.

Recipe Notes

Click here for my favorite Angel Food Cake (or copy and paste this url into your browser: http://sugarspunrun.com/classic-angel-food-cake/)