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Donal Skehan
Mini Christmas Chocolate Trifles | DonalSkehan.com, An indulgent, chocolatey dessert for all you Christmas pudding-haters out there!
  • christmas

Mini Christmas Chocolate Trifles

December 15

My make-ahead chocolate pud is made with homemade chocolate brownie and layered with  chocolate custard, cherry syrup and cream. It’s finished with shavings of dark and white chocolate and a festive scattering of edible gold sprinkles. Think trifle meets black forest gateau.

  • serves Serves 8
  • time 60 mins

Method

  1. 1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. To make the brownies, line a 22 x 30cm/9" x 12" baking tin with baking parchment.
  2. 2. Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir constantly until melted and smooth. With a hand-held electric mixer, whisk the sugar and eggs together for 2-3 minutes until pale and fluffy.
  3. 3. Slowly add the melted chocolate and butter then add the vanilla extract and continue to whisk until thickened. Lastly, sift in the flour and baking powder and fold in gently. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the middle shelf of the oven for 25 minutes until the top is firm and the cake has come away slightly from the sides of the tin. Leave to cool.
  4. 4. To make the chocolate custard, pour the cream into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Beat together the sugar, egg yolks and vanilla extract in a bowl. Pour over 2 tbsp's of the cream into the egg yolk mixture, whisking to combine, then add back into the rest of the cream. Lower the heat and cook for a few minutes, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until the custard coats the back of a spoon.
  5. 5. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in the microwave on high for 1 minute or do it in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Remove the thickened custard from the heat and stir in the melted chocolate. Cover with cling film and leave to cool.
  6. 6. To make the cherry sauce, drain the cherries, reserving the liquid, then set aside. Place the liquid in a pan with the kirsch or brandy and simmer for about 5 minutes or until syrupy – it should be about 100ml in total. Stir in the cherries and leave to cool.
  7. 7. Cut the brownies into small squares and use to cover the base of individual glass. Spoon over the cherries along with their syrup. Spoon over the chocolate custard, then cover with cling film and chill while you finish making the topping.
  8. 8. Lightly whip the cream with the vanilla extract and icing sugar until soft peaks form, then gently fold in the crème fraiche. Cover with cling film and chill until you are ready to assemble. To serve, pile large dollops of the cream mixture on top of the custard and decorate with the gold starts, sprinkles, chocolate shavings and some fresh cherries, if you like.

Ingredients

For the brownies:

8 oz dark chocolate, broken into squares

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 cups caster sugar

3 large free-range eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

For the chocolate custard:

2 1/2 cups cream

2/3 cup caster sugar

4 large free-range egg yolks

1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract

8 oz dark chocolate, broken into squares

For the cherry syrup:

3 x 14 oz can black cherries in syrup

2 tbsp kirsch or brandy

For the cream topping:

1 1/4 cups of cream

1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp sifted icing sugar

1 x 8oz tub crème fraiche

To decorate:

Handful edible gold stars

Good sprinkling edible gold sprinkles

4 oz dark chocolate, in large thick shavings

4 oz white chocolate, in large thick shavings

1 cup fresh cherries (optional)

For the brownies:

225g dark chocolate, broken into squares

225g butter

300g caster sugar

3 large free-range eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

For the chocolate custard:

600ml cream

140g caster sugar

4 large free-range egg yolks

1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract

200g dark chocolate, broken into squares

For the cherry syrup:

3 x 400g can black cherries in syrup

2 tbsp kirsch or brandy

For the cream topping:

300ml cream

1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp sifted icing sugar

200ml tub crème fraiche

To decorate:

Handful edible gold stars

Good sprinkling edible gold sprinkles

100g dark chocolate, in large thick shavings

100g white chocolate, in large thick shavings

100g fresh cherries (optional)

You'll Need

Baking tin

Parchment paper

3 x medium heat resistant bowls

2 x saucepans

Hand-held electric mixer

Sieve

6-8 mini trifle bowls or glasses

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