Chocolate Cream Puff Trifle Recipes

CHOCOLATE CREAM-PUFF TRIFLE

Steps:

• Dried fruit:Bring anisette just to a simmer in a small pot. Add dried fruit and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat; let sit at least 1 hour and up to 3 days at room temperature.
• Pate a choux puffs:Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring butter, sugar, salt, and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat. Quickly stir in flour with a wooden spoon. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture pulls away from sides of pan and a film forms on bottom, about 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and beat with a mixer on low speed until cool, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs and egg white, 1 at a time. Increase speed to medium and beat until a soft peak forms when you touch dough with your finger, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (Ateco #806). Pipe dough into thirty 1-to-1 1/4-inch mounds, 1 1/2 inches apart, on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Smooth tip of each mound with a moistened finger, then bake until puffed and golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely. Choux puffs can be made 2 days ahead and stored in refrigerator, or frozen up to 1 month.
• Chocolate pastry cream:Place chocolate in a bowl and set a fine sieve over bowl. Bring milk and 1/3 cup sugar almost to a boil in a saucepan; remove from heat. Whisk together egg yolks and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in another bowl until thick, 2 minutes. Sprinkle in flour and salt, then whisk to combine. Whisk in half of hot milk, then pour mixture into remaining milk in pan. Bring to a boil quickly, whisking very fast to prevent scorching, about 1 minute. Pour mixture through sieve over chocolate, then whisk to combine. Press plastic wrap directly on surface of pastry cream to cover and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. Pastry cream can be made up to 2 days ahead.
• Ricotta cream:Beat together ricotta, cream, sugar, orange zest, anisette, and salt with a mixer on medium-high speed until very thick and fluffy. Stir in chocolate and refrigerate until ready to use. Ricotta cream can be made up to 2 days ahead.
• Assembly:Place chocolate pastry cream in a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip (Ateco #801). Make a small hole in bottom of each choux puff with a paring knife. Insert pastry-bag tip into hole in each puff and squeeze bag until puffs are completely filled with pastry cream. (See Cook's Notes.) Spread half of ricotta cream in a 12-to-16-cup trifle bowl. Top with half of marmalade, then sprinkle with half of dried fruit and soaking liquid. Top with 15 cream puffs. Repeat layering with remaining ricotta cream, marmalade, dried fruit, and cream puffs. Top with whipped cream. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours before serving.

CHOCOLATE CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet lightly with some shortening. Put beaters into the freezer to chill.
• Combine water and shortening in a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Add flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt all at once and reduce heat to low. Stir mixture vigorously until it leaves the sides of the pan and forms a ball, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.
• Beat in eggs, one at a time, with chilled beaters, beating vigorously after each addition until batter is smooth and glossy. Drop dough into 6 mounds on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until puffed and dry, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and pierce the side of each puff with a knife to allow steam to escape. Transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely, abut 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine sugar, cocoa powder and whipping cream in a bowl for the filling. Beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until needed.
• Cut cooled puffs in half horizontally. Fill with cocoa whipped cream.
• For the glaze, pour whipping cream into a small pot and heat until hot. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted. Allow to cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate glaze over the cream puffs and refrigerate until serving.

CHOCOLATE-FILLED CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium heat, bring water and butter to a boil. Add flour and salt all at once; stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat until smooth. , Cover a baking sheet with foil; grease foil. Drop batter into six mounds onto foil. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°; bake 30 minutes longer. Remove puffs to a wire rack. Immediately cut a slit in each for steam to escape. , In a bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and cocoa, beating until almost stiff. Split puffs and remove soft dough. Add filling; replace tops. Melt chocolate and butter; stir in sugar and water. Drizzle over puffs. Chill.

CHOCOLATE BROWNIE TRIFLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
• Combine brownie mix, eggs, water, and oil in a large bowl; stir until well blended. Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan.
• Bake in preheated oven until top is dry and edges have started to pull away from the sides of the pan, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Cut into 1-inch squares.
• Beat cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Add milk and pudding mix; beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping until well incorporated into filling.
• Place 1/2 of the brownie squares at the bottom of a trifle bowl or glass serving dish; top with filling. Shave 1/2 of the chocolate bar onto filling using a vegetable peeler. Repeat with remaining brownies, filling, and chocolate bar shavings. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.

CHOCOLATE TRIFLE

Steps:

• Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and cool completely. Cut into 1 inch squares.
• In a large bowl, combine pudding mix, water and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until smooth, then fold in 8 ounces whipped topping until no streaks remain.
• In a trifle bowl or glass serving dish, place half of the brownies, half of the pudding mixture and half of the 12 ounce container of whipped topping. Repeat layers. Shave chocolate onto top layer for garnish. Refrigerate 8 hours before serving.

IRISH CREME CHOCOLATE TRIFLE

Steps:

• Prepare and bake cake mix according to package directions, using a 13x9-in. pan. Cool in pan on a wire rack 1 hour., With a meat fork or wooden skewer, poke holes in cake about 2 in. apart. Slowly pour creamer over cake; refrigerate, covered, 1 hour., In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes 2 minutes; let stand until soft-set, about 2 minutes., Cut cake into 1-1/2-in. cubes. In a 3-qt. trifle or glass bowl, layer a third of each of the following: cake cubes, pudding, whipped topping and candies. Repeat layers twice. Refrigerate until serving.

CLASSIC CREAM PUFFS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the pastry cream: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in the egg yolks until combined, then whisk in the milk. Heat over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until it starts to thicken, 4 to 5 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat.
• Whisk in the butter and vanilla bean paste. Transfer to a bowl, then press a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface of the pastry cream. Let cool, then refrigerate until chilled through, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Start the cream puff dough: In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, butter and salt to a simmer over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture comes together. Cook until the mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the pan into a ball and looks dry, 3 to 5 minutes more.
• Finish the cream puff dough: Using a wooden spoon, beat in the eggs, one at a time, waiting until they are fully incorporated before adding the next. Mix until the batter is shiny and stiff. Alternatively, you can use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-low speed to incorporate the eggs. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round pastry tip.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Form and bake: On the prepared baking sheet, pipe rounds of dough that are 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide and about 1 inch high, allowing 1 inch between each. Alternatively, measure out a scant 1/4-cup dough for each puff. Wet your finger and press down any pointed tops on the cream puffs. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven to 350 degrees F and bake until firm to the touch, another 15 to 20 minutes.
• Finish baking: Shut the oven off. Let the puffs dry inside the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.
• Assemble: Using a paring knife, hollow out a hole in the bottom of each of the puffs. Pipe the pastry cream into the hole. Alternatively, you can cut the top off each puff and remove any undercooked dough in the center, then fill with the pastry cream and top with the top again. Hold in the refrigerator until ready to garnish and serve.
• Make the chocolate sauce: In a small pot, heat the cream. In a small bowl that fits over the pot of cream (without the bottom of the bowl touching the cream), combine the chocolate with the cinnamon. Use the pot of cream as the bottom of the double boiler and melt the chocolate over the cream. When the chocolate is melted, add the heated cream to the bowl with the chocolate and whisk to combine. Keep warm.
• Top the cream puffs with a sprinkle of confectioners' sugar and some of the chocolate sauce.