Salted Caramel & Chocolate Brownie Trifle
Save RecipeHi Bold Bakers!
My Salted Caramel, Chocolate Brownie Trifle is one of my first episodes of Bigger Bolder Baking and still a favorite. It’s an over-the-top recipe I hope you’ll love with layers of homemade salted caramel sauce, fudge brownies, caramel mousse, whipped cream & a rich chocolate sauce. I like to make mine in a giant glass Trifle dish but you can make it as BIG & BOLD as you’d like. Enjoy!
- FUDGE BROWNIE
- 4 Tbsp cold and unsalted butter
- 10 oz Good quality chocolate (72% cocoa solids)
- 1½ Cups Firmly packed brown sugar
- 4 Whole Eggs, beaten lightly
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ Cups A.p flour
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- 1 recipe for Salted caramel sauce
- 1 cup Salted Caramel Sauce (above recipe)
- 2 Tblsp granulated sugar
- 2 packs (1 lb) Cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3 cups heavy cream, cold
- CHOCOLATE SAUCE
- 8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (I like 72 percent cacao)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- To make the Brownies: Preheat the oven to 350oF (180oC). Grease and line a 13x9 inch baking pan
- Combine the butter, chocolate and sugar in medium saucepan; stir over medium heat until smooth. Set aside and allow to cool down.
- Stir in the eggs, vanilla, flour and salt
- Pour Brownie mix into the prepared tin and bake for 25 minutes. Take care not to over bake or they can be dry, and not fudgy
- When baked, set aside to go cold until needed. (You can make the brownie 2 days in advance, and it also freeze really well)
- For the Salted Caramel Mousse: Transfer cream cheese into Kitchen mixer. Beat at medium-high speed until smooth and no lumps, about 4 minutes.
- Add in the reserved salted caramel sauce and sugar. Continue to beat on high until fluffy, another 3 minutes., the more air the better your mousse will be.
- Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Divide the cream in half, half for the mousse and other half for cream layers.
- Fold ½ whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Place in fridge until needed. Taste a spoonful so you know what you have to look forward to.
- Place the other bowl of cream in the fridge until assembly of the trifle.
- For the Chocolate Sauce: Heat the cream over low heat until almost to a simmer. Pour over the chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
- Assembling the Trifle: In a large trifle dish (or a big glass bowl) crumble in your fudge brownie. Leave some bits chunky so you have nice chewy texture to match the soft mousse and cream.
- Next, spoon over the Salted Caramel sauce to moisten the brownie.
- Scoop in a large spoonful of the Salted Caramel Mousse and move it around to reach the edges
- Drizzle the rich Chocolate Sauce over the Salted Caramel Mousse layer
- Lastly spoon on the whipped cream layer all the way to the edges.
- Repeat the layers again from the start: Crumbled Brownie, Caramel Sauce, Caramel Mousse, Chocolate sauce, Whipped Cream.
- To finish I crumble some brownie crumbs and drizzle over the gorgeous sauces.
- Dig deep down to enjoy all your lovely layers together. Mix it up and try your own twist on layers using your favorite flavors.
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Meet Gemma
Hi Bold Bakers! I’m Gemma Stafford, a professional chef originally from Ireland, and I’m passionate about sharing my years of experience to show you how to make game-changing baking recipes with over-the-top results! Join more than 1 Million other Bold Bakers in the community for new video recipes every week!
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Hi Gemma, I tried the salted caramel and brownie trifle. It was a very rich dessert. My friends and family enjoyed it.
Hi there,
Yes, it is rich! It goes a long way. I am happy you like this recipe,
Gemma 🙂
Hi, can I make the caramel mousse a day in advance and whip the cream too?
Hi Mona,
Yes!
The quality of the cream is important, get the freshest you can get, and refrigerate it right away and all will be well.
Gemma 🙂
Hello Gemma! I tried this recipe over the holidays and my whole family loved it!! The brownies are beyond amazing and are now my favourite!! Thank you so much for your recipe!
Hi Hannah,
Thank you for your very kind review of this recipe. I appreciate your taking the trouble.
Good that you are baking with us,
Gemma 🙂
Looking forward to serving this yummy dessert after a pre-Christmas dinner this evening. I’ve made caramel sauce many times very similar to your recipe (sans the water) but wanted to follow this recipe to a ‘T’. Unfortunately, pieces of the rubber spatula (recommended to stir) came off in the sauce as I was stirring. I was able to get all the pieces out but going forward will follow my other recipes and use a whisk to stir.
Also, could you please clarify on the Caramel Mousse? The recipe says to use the “reserved caramel” in the mousse. The caramel recipe made exactly 1 cup. How much should I actually add to the mousse? And the rest is for drizzle, is that correct?
Thanks for this recipe. I just might skip dinner and go straight to dessert!
Hi Toni,
I have had the same things happen with spatulas that are not the best. I now use tovolo spatulas and this will never happen to them :).
Add also the cup of sauce to the mousse but keep a little bit of the sauce for drizzling.
A note about this recipe, the flavor is even better when it is made and assembled the day before serving. all the flavors develop and marry together the longer it sits :).
Hope your guests love it!
Gemma.
Hi Gemma, please could you convert all the cup measurements into g or oz please as I would really love to make this for Christmas but we don’t really use cups in the UK.
Hi Sam,
(https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/weight-conversion-chart/) this is a chart for you, you can use this to convert the recipes. I will take a look back at this recipe and add the metric and imperial measurements, thank you for bringing this to my attention,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
I already did your amazing trifle twice before and it was successful. The caramel mousse was a bit runny but I just read someone else’s comment and your reply to add more cream cheese. That’s my plan for this time.
Now my question is
Can I assemble the trifle the night before? My friends are coming over on a brunch and have other stuff to do on the same day. So if it still tastes as good if assembled the night before it would make things easier for me.
Thanks a lot
Hi Saffana,
YES! That is the idea, do prepare this ahead of time, it will meld together, and the flavors will further develop. All trifles improve with keeping, in the fridge, well covered overnight.
I do hope you have a lovely party,
Gemma 🙂
Hi gemma! I am in love with this recepie and am so excited to try this for thanksgiving dinner. I was wondering if leftovers (if there are any with this icredible dessert 😂) would save for long in the fridge. Thanks!
Hi there,
There is fresh cream in this luscious dessert. You can make it as big, or small, as you like.
The cream needs to be really fresh to start with, then it will keep for about 3 days, when refrigerated. Do not leave it at room temperature for too long. Cover it down well too, cream takes up fridge smells!
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
Thank you for all the amazing recipes! Always bold 😀
I tried this recipe, half all of it. But once I refrigerated it overnight, the brownie became very tough to bite, its hard. Maybe you can help me figure where I did wrong? I serve them in individual cups, I didnt crumble the brownie, I just cut it with my cookie cutter to fit the cup. Maybe this affect the texture?
And I like a bit more moist and fudgier brownie, is it ok if I add maybe a tbsp of oil will do that?
Thank you before, Gemma.
And oh, the rests are delicious 😊😊
Hi Ran,
this sounds like a problem with how you made the brownie!
Tell me a little more about that. Did you bake it as I did in a convection oven?
I do not have enough information to help you here.
This recipe (https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/best-ever-brownies/) is a different one, rich and very moist. The other one though is also moist, so something not right here!
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
Thank you for the reply. Well, I did all the steps mentioned on the recipe. Although I remember I also bake it for 25 mins like it says, whereas I only made half of the recipe. Is it maybe because of this?
Hi there,
Yes, it may indeed have to do with the time.
All timing in baking is a bit arbitrary. That is because no two ovens bake in the same way. You need to keep an eye on the bake, and learn to know when it is just right.
You can generally do this by sight, or touch. When a bake is done it will feel firm to the touch, in the middle, on top!
I hope this is of help to you,
Gemma 😉
Hi Gemma,
I have made the salted caramel mousse however the consistency is quite loose, is there any way to thicken it?
Hi Karl,
Adding more cream cheese will thicken it, but you will need to beat it through.
Cream cheese bought in tubs, tends to be very soft, designed as it is for spreading. fresh cream also needs to be above 35% fat content to hold its shape.
I would try adding more cream cheese, I think this is your best bet, I hope it helps you,
Gemma 🙂
Hi. I’m drooling over this.
I made the caramel sauce and it is delicious. I am planning to make a chocolate and caramel mousse cake. Will the mousse set? Or do I need to use gelatine?
Could you help me with a recipe.
Thanks
Hi Sunita,
I have not made a caramel mousse, but I should! Here you will find a chocolate one, which I like, it is based on a custard type base, and would not need setting with gelatin.
what you add to the mousse depends on lots of things. you can make a ‘mousse’ by whipping fresh dairy cream, and combining it with Dulce De Leche, you can make it with egg whites, and there are tons of recipes online. Choose one which matches what you have in ingredients. That is the best advice I can give you.
Gemma 🙂
Thank you for the prompt response. I am thinking that if I add a little gelatine to the caramel then probably can follow your recipe. Let me see how that works out.
Hi Sunita,
Yes, and do let us know,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma. I made it last night. Proportion as follows-
150gms cream cheese
1/2 cup whipped cream
1/4 cup caramel sauce
1/2 tsp powdered agar agar
1/4 cup water
I dissolved the agar in water boiled it for 2-3 minutes. Then added it to hot caramel sauce. Kept aside till slightly cool. But not set.
Whipped cream cheese and poured the agar and caramel mixture. Mixed well and folded in the whipped cream.
This I set over a thin layer of brownie.
Cut into pieces and drizzled some caramel sauce.
Guests loved it. They were licking the caramel sauce.
Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Will try and send you a picture.
That’s great, Sunita. Yes please send a photo of you can.
Best,
Gemma.
I’m wondering what I did wrong? I made the caramel sauce and put it in the fridge and it really set up. Is it supposed to be that way? It’s not pourable. If I warm it up will it still work in the mousse?
So Doretta you didn’t do anything wrong. Sounds like you just cooked yours a little longer then needed. This created a darker caramel and caramel will set when cooked for a period of time.
Mine sets too because sometimes I want to cook mine for longer. Pop it in the microwave for a 10-20 seconds and you will have for yourself a delicious, potable caramel.
Hope this helps. 🙂
Finger licking good?
Excellent recipe… definitely a keeper! A bit lengthy but worth all the hard work, I made the fudge brownie out of box but still came out really delicious. Thanks Gemma?
Yes! I am happy that this worked for you. A good tip here for a short cut too, well done.
It is time consuming, but impressive, and I am happy that you tried it,
Gemma 🙂
Hi
It looks really amazing. I am planning to make it this Friday. I have a question though , do you add sugar to whipped cream ? I can see you didn’t in the recipe and instruction but I was thinking how would it taste in layers unsweetened.
Hi Hira,
I do not add sugar to fresh whipped cream, this was not done in my home. The sweetness of the other ingredients will balance it out. Now, my aunt Mary always sneaked in a little sugar, and sometimes a little vanilla too, this was delicious, but my Mum did not approve! lol.
You can try it with a touch of sugar, not too much. Vanilla and powdered sugar will make it a chantilly cream, great in a vanilla sponge cake.
Thank you for being with us,
Gemma 🙂
Thank you so much for the recipe it was soooo delicious. All my guests loved it ?
Thank you for your kind comments, I am happy that you tried this recipe, and enjoyed it too, well done you,
Gemma 🙂
This looks sooo good! I have a question, when you say “good quality chocolate” for the brownies, what is the specific chocolate you use? Thank you!
Good question Alexis,
I really mean to use real chocolate, and not one of the ‘baking’ chocolates you find in the store.
I use a semi sweet chocolate, about 70% cocoa solids, you will find this information on the label. the brand is not so important, though you may find one you really like. If it is good to eat, it is good to bake with.
Around 70% the chocolate will melt nicely, as it has a 30% or so cocoa butter remaining in it. After that is becomes really bitter, and will seize easily, which means it is hard to melt without adding a liquid ingredient. I do hope this helps,
Gemma 🙂
i tried this recipe and believe me everyone just loved it . the taste and look everything is just amazing. i do want to show you picture it is beautiful but the way you presented is Excellent.
Thank you Shaheena,
I am happy to hear that, thank you for being in touch,
Gemma 🙂
Hi, I’m about to make this today ( can’t wait to eat ) but I’ve re read and can seem to find the quantity of cream to whip for the whipped cream layer in the ingredients list? Also after reading some of the other comments and yr replies, is the caramel sauce recipe enough to make the sauce and mouse? ( I don’t need to double up do I?
Thank you
Hi Sarah,
This is a big recipe, and a little complex.
You use 1 1/2 cups of cream for the mousse, and the remaining 1 1/2 cups for the whipped cream layer.
The caramel sauce required for the mousse is 1 cup, and the salted caramel recipe makes about 3 cups, so use as much as you like for the drizzle.
The best thing to do with this recipe is to break it down to its’ component parts, the rest is just assembly.
I do hope your family enjoy this,
Gemma 🙂
My chocolate sauce for the brownies seems gritty (I don’t think I melted it enough), and cooling thick and not really liquidy. Can I just reheat it to melt more?
Hi Laura,
It sounds to me like it seized, that is you overheated it. You need to take it from the heat and whisk in a little vegetable oil, usually you will do this when it happens, and not later. did you melt the chocolate over a bowl of simmering water or in the microwave? did you add butter?
It is so difficult for me to figure out what happened, but overheating is the usual fault,
Gemma 🙂
Hello!
I will be making this recipe today, as it looks delicious! I was curious about one thing. I’ve read of the recipe many times, and cannot see to find the instructions for the whipped cream? Was wondering if that was hidden in there somewhere? The directions for the mousse are there!
Hi Kayla,
It is there. It is added in a couple of places, after the chocolate layer at point 16 in the instructions in particular, I thikn this is what you are looking for. This is a detailed recipe, a lot to do, best to break it down into its component parts. Assembly is as important as anything here. i do hope you make this and enjoy it too,
Gemma 🙂
If this posts twice please delete the duplicate post please. I just saw my post was gone and wasn’t sure if had gotten deleted.
Hello,
I am planning on making this today and I was wondering if you can keep the assembled trifle in the fridge or should I assemble it the day I plan on serving it?
I did see you can keep the brownies, whipped cream and mousse in the fridge but wasn’t sure about the chocolate and caramel sauces?
Thank you for any help,
Lianne
Hi Lianne, now I do not know if I already answered this one!
I would assemble this and refrigerate it. It is always better with this type of recipe to allow the flavors to blend and the trifle to set up a little.
Hope you enjoy the finished result, post a pic!
Gemma 🙂
Love the recipe….it says to use giant glass Trifle dish…..what size is a giant glass Trifle dish?
I need to order one and want to make sure it is large enough….
Thank you.
Hi there Georgia,
This is about the size I use (http://amzn.to/2hnl1ll) and is available on Amazon.com. It is a bit expensive, so I am just sending you this link so that you can see the proportions. Hope you enjoy making this,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
Saw your fudgy brownie video and am so totally hooked. I would like to try this out for my family get together this weekend. Your recipe mentions the use of 5 eggs. Being a vegetarian I would like to use a suitable egg substitute.
1. Which one should I use, flax seed meal, applesauce or mashed banana that will enhance the flavour of the fudgy chocolate brownie?
2. Please guide me regarding the quantity that would be required to replace all 5 eggs.
3. If I were to use applesauce, would it add apple flavour to the brownies?
I understand that it is a long query. But would really appreciate your considered input. Thanks in advance.
Warm Regards
Kanan KR
Hi there Kanan, Changing a recipe will change the results. However, for chocolate recipes I would substitute with two things, flax seed meal, and flax seed oil, 1/2 and 1/2. (Use sunflower oil if you cannot find flax seed oil). So to replace 5 eggs use 3 tablespoons of ground flax seeds, and 2 of oil, I think this will work well for you. Do not over-bake, when this is firm to the touch it is done. Do not over-mix, it will make it cakey! I will be interested to hear how you get on with this 🙂
Hi there
it says to “Add in the reserved salted caramel sauce and sugar” but i cant see how much of the overall quantity of caramel this is ? the recipe calls for 1 cup (i think), how much of this goes in the mousse ?
do I need to make this sauce twice ?
1 recipe for Salted caramel sauce
1 cup Salted Caramel Sauce (above recipe)
Thanks !
Hi Kristy,
So make the recipe for Salted caramel sauce . Then use a cup out of that recipe to make your mousse.
The rest of the sauce is simply drizzles and that amount is at your own discretion. I can’t give an exact amount for drizzling. However you will probably have a little left over once you have assembled your trifle.
Hope this helps,
Gemma.
Hi gemma ..loved all your recipes they were amazing you r sooo sweet and such a good instructor loved the way u talk and comunicate ….my only request is please do make some fast food with your biggerbolder twist?
Hi there,
Thank you for your kind comments, i am happy to have you with us.
The macaroons: It sounds like you over-mixed the batter when you were incorporating the almond. It is vital to retain the air in the egg whites. The egg white must be whipped until it is stiff and will almost hold up on its’ own. This is a ecipe which takes practice!
Gemma 🙂
where can I post pictures of recipes that I have recreated so that you can see them?
Also I loved this recipe!! <3 <3 <3<3<3
Hi,
Thanks so much for sharing your photos. Go to the page of the recipe you made and scroll down to the bottom of the page. It will say ‘SUBMIT YOUR OWN PHOTOS OF THIS RECIPE’ . Click and submit. I approve and then you will see it up there for everyone to see.
Looking forward to seeing what you made.
Gemma.
I will definitly post my pics …one more question my macaroons were totally flat can u tell me y is it so
I tried it last week.. still can’t get over the taste of caramel and brownie *_*
truly divine?
Thank you Gemma for sharing this recipe 🙂 i posted the pic to your website and am waiting for your review to my creation 😛
Thanks so much. I’m glad you liked this recipe. I will check out your photo 🙂
I’m in a dilemma the caramel sauce has set and is as hard as a rock,so when I added it to the cream cheese I just ended up with a lumpy mix that tastes revolting. What do I do please help .
Sorry to hear that, Sam. Tens of thousands of viewers have had success with this recipe. For the best results I recommend following the recipe and instructions exactly. Hope this helps! 🙂
Obłęd. Muszę wypróbować 😉
Hi Kasia,
Tak ty!
Gemma 🙂
this looks gorgeous i will try it, but i want to know the amount of cream cheese in grams plz
Hi Juolia,
454g – this is a pound weight of cream cheese,
Gemma 🙂
For the brownies.. when it says heat until smooth do you wait for it to completely liquify or just for the butter and chocolate to melt?
You’ll want to melt them all together. When the sugar is melted, the mixture will look smooth. Hope this helps 🙂
This recipe leaves out a few important details. The directions could be better. First of all, should you use amixer I make the brownie batter? Also the caramel sauce says to add the butter as soon as the sugar is dissolved, but if you do that, you will never get it to turn the caramel color. Trust me, I tried for about a half hour, then threw that out and started over. Once I had the caramel color, THEN I added the butter. This works much better. The caramel sauce only made just barely over a cup, and since I was supposed to add 1 cup to the mousse mixture, I had to make another round of the caramel sauce. At least I knew what I was doing that time. 🙂 The reviews were pretty good for the end result at least, it is just very time consuming, but then most good things are. 🙂
Thanks so much, Julie. Really glad you liked this recipe 🙂
What type of chocolate is used in the brownie recipe — unsweetened, bittersweet, or semisweet?
You can use whichever chocolate you prefer. Hope this helps 🙂
this looks sooooooo good I can’t wait to try it :p
Sincerely Giuliana?
You’re going to love it, Giuliana. Thanks so much for visiting my website 🙂
I was just wondering how soon before serving the trifle can be assembled. Can I do it the night before? Or a couple of hours before? Or does it need to be assembled just before serving? I want to make it for our Christmas party and just wondered if it will be feasible. Thanks for your response.
You can make it the night before. Thanks so much for visiting my website, Laura 🙂
This brownie recipe is so delicious! It is my new favorite!
It is my favorite too. Keep the recipe safe so you always have it 🙂
I definitely will! Thank you!
I’m making this for my Master-chef challenge at school and I really hope it works out. It looks absolutely amazing and delicious. I love all your bold recipes Gemma, thanks.
Thank you so much for visiting my website. Good luck with your challenge. I would love to see pictures of your creations 🙂
This looks wonderful!!! I’ve got to make it soon!!! I just discovered your website today. A friend shared your Homemade Disneyland Dole Whip recipe on facebook. I decided to check out your site & have discovered many recipes I want to try!!!
Hi Joy, Thanks so much, really glad you my recipes and baking videos :). Thanks for coming over to my website.
the caramel dosent cook for me and in the video you said dont stir it and on the recipe it did! so what do i do?
Hi, Don’t stir the caramel once the mix starts to simmer. Did you simmer your caramel for long? It can take a little while.
I swear I have watched this video at least 15 times.
Each time i see this video it just makes me drool……
You are seriously the best chef EVER.I mean like you
are the most soft spoken and kindest person on the face of the earth
I love you to bits and pieces.
xoxo,
Igal
Hi Igal,
What a lovely message. Thank you so much. I am delighted you like my videos so much. I have to admit this dessert was extremely decadent and well worth making 🙂
I would be making this dessert for a prayer event in my home.
If its successful I would be sure to send some pictures.. :p
Love,
Igal
I would love to see pictures! 🙂