Sometimes the best desserts are the simplest! This chocolate Halloween trifle is spooky, packed with Halloween spirit and absolutely scrumptious.

It’s made with bits of black cocoa cake, vanilla pudding, and a homemade whipped cream. I also love to mix in bits of my favorite Halloween candies along with some chocolate chips!

What Is a Trifle?

To be honest, I had to google the proper definition of a trifle. I knew that trifles usually involve bits of cake, whipped cream, and some type of fruit.

However, I wasn’t quite sure about the rest. I also didn’t know the proper order of the layers.

After a bit of sleuthing (thank you wikipedia), I learned that traditional English trifles are made with sponge cake or ladyfingers soaked in sherry or fortified wine.

Custard, fruit, and jam are then layered on top of the cake and sometimes topped with whipped cream.

Most trifles these days are made a bit differently though! There also are about a million variations out there, from mixed berry to Oreo trifles.

Keeping Things Simple – How I Like to Make Trifles

The best thing about trifles is that you can make them with whatever you want and build them however you like.

I chose to use vanilla pudding instead of custard to keep things simple. I also felt like vanilla pudding was more fitting for this Halloween trifle!

However, if you want to make your entire trifle from scratch, here is a great custard recipe.

I also decided to skip the sherry. Most sponge cakes need additional moisture of some sort, whether it’s from a soak of simple syrup or sherry!

My halloween trifle recipe uses a half batch of my chocolate sheet cake recipe, which is already plenty moist.

I find that the pudding kind of soaks into the bits of cake, so there’s definitely no need to add any additional liquid.

The Perfect Make Ahead Dessert

When you’re able to pile your fillings into a trifle dish, you don’t have to spend much extra time on the decoration of the dessert.

As long as you create even layers of filling, your trifle will be a work of art by the time you finish.

I did add on some Halloween sprinkles and gummy eyeballs, but I promise it only took me about 2 minutes to add these “decorations.”

Trifles are great make ahead desserts and can easily be made in advance.

Just be sure to fully cover the trifle with plastic wrap to make sure it’s protected in your fridge.

Halloween Trifle Ingredients & Substitutions:

This Halloween trifle recipe uses quite a few ingredients and I know you might not have all of them on hand.

Or if you have food allergies or restrictions, I’ve got you covered. Below are some swaps and substitutions that you can make:

• All Purpose Flour – This recipe turns out best with AP flour, but you can use a gluten free flour blend if needed.
• Granulated Sugar – I do not recommend reducing the amount of sugar or changing the type of sugar, as it will change the texture of the cake.
• Black Cocoa – I love using black cocoa (I order black cocoa on Amazon) because it naturally colors both the cake. If you can’t get black cocoa, you can use dark cocoa powder or Dutch-processed cocoa powder in its place. You can also use regular cocoa powder and add in a bit of black gel food coloring.
• Buttermilk – Use full fat yogurt, sour cream, whole milk in place of the sour cream, or an alternative yogurt or milk (almond, soy, oat) if you’re dairy free.
• Instant Espresso or Coffee – This ingredient is optional, so if you hate coffee, you can omit it. However, you can’t really taste the coffee once the cake is baked! I just like adding a bit of coffee because it enhances the chocolate flavor.
• Vegetable Oil – You can use any flavorless oil in this recipe. Canola or sunflower oil would work great.
• Eggs – If you have an egg allergy you can use flaxseed eggs instead!
• Heavy Cream – If you want to make vegan whipped cream, you can use coconut cream in place of the heavy cream in this recipe.

Using Different Sized Trifle Dishes

The quantities in this recipe are based on a trifle dish that is 8 inches in diameter.

You can also make individual trifles in stemless wine glasses for easy serving! The number of individual trifles you can make will vary based on the size of your cups.

Tips For Making the Best Halloween Trifle:

• Cut your cake into equal sized squares or crumble it with a fork to make it easy to create even layers in your trifle
• Carefully spoon and smooth your layers of pudding and whipped cream with an offset spatula to give your trifle a gorgeous finished look
• I recommend making your whipped cream from scratch. It only takes a few minutes to make and tastes so delicious!! However, if you’re short on time, cool whip will work too!
• While making the trifle, get down at eye level with the trifle dish or glasses to make sure the layers are even and the same thickness.

Making This Halloween Trifle in Advance & Storage Tips

Make this trifle in advance to make life easier! It can easily be made a day or two before an event or party. Just be sure that you tightly wrap the trifle container with plastic wrap to keep it fresh.

Wait to decorate the top until right before you plan to serve it. Otherwise the sprinkles can bleed.

Leftover trifle can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days if tightly wrapped with plastic wrap. After that the whipped cream will lose its shape.

You can also make the sheet cake up to two weeks in advance and freeze it, then cut it up and assembled the trifle the day of.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this Halloween trifle recipe, please leave a rating and comment below.

And don’t forget to tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets so that I can see your delicious creations!

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