This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure for details.
Hi Bold Bakers!
IN THIS RECIPE: My Salted Caramel Chocolate Brownie Trifle recipe is layer after layer of decadent dessert goodness. You have never had anything like it before, and it’ll live in your mind forever! It’s perfect for any occasion and is incredibly easy to make.
Fun fact — this 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!
What Is A Trifle?
Trifles are desserts that are built layer-upon-layer in a dish. I have recipes for a few different kinds, like my Holiday Gingerbread Trifle, my Fudge Brownie & Raspberry Trifle, and most recently, my Banana Bread Trifles! Usually, the layers consist of some sort of spongy cake or brownie, a sauce, cream, and then repeated. Apparently, we have the British to thank for them!
My Signature Salted Caramel Sauce
If you’re looking for the best-of-the-best in caramel sauces, mine is signature, so you know it’s good! I promise I did not just name it that because it sounded good. You can find that recipe here and yes, I do always have some on hand in my fridge for all occasions!
How To Make Chocolate Sauce
If you think chocolate sauce is hard to make, you need to think again. My chocolate sauce recipe only uses two ingredients and is as simple as warming them together. Chocolate + cream = heaven.
What Kind Of Brownie To Use
In this recipe, you’ll find how to make a fudge brownie, which works perfectly for this trifle recipe — but you can use any one of my brownie recipes if you wish! And do I have LOADS of different brownie recipes? Yeah, I do! Find them all here. I’ve been meaning to try making this trifle with my Chewy Brownies…
[Don’t forget to try my Chocolate Fudge Brownie and Raspberry Trifle Recipe right here!]
What You Need To Make A Trifle
You don’t need any special equipment to make this. You don’t even technically need the trifle dish, but it does present your trifle in an unforgettable way! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Saucepan
- Baking Pan (For the brownies)
- Kitchen Mixer
- Trifle Dish (If you wish)
How To Make Salted Caramel & Chocolate Brownie Trifle
When it comes to making this recipe, it’s all in the assembly. I’ve taken all the guesswork out of the individual components — like the making of the brownie and the sauces. It’s then up to you to layer the trifle into the order you’d like!
Get More Trifle Recipes:
And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!
Plus, SUBSCRIBE NOW to the Bold Baking Academy for exclusive in-depth baking courses, The Baking Concierge™, and the Bold Baking Academy Community!
Watch The Recipe Video!
Salted Caramel & Brownie Trifle Recipe
Ingredients
FUDGE BROWNIE
- 4 Tbsp cold and unsalted butter
- 10 oz Good quality chocolate (72% cocoa solids)
- 1 1/2 Cups Firmly packed brown sugar
- 4 Whole Eggs (beaten lightly)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 Cups All-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
SALTED CARAMEL MOUSSE
- 1 cup (1 recipe for) Salted caramel sauce
- 2 Tblsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 packs (1 lb) Cream cheese (at room temperature)
- 3 cups heavy cream ( half for the caramel mousse and half for the layers) (cold)
CHOCOLATE SAUCE
- 8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (I like 72 percent cacao)
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
FUDGE BROWNIE INSTRUCTIONS
- To make the Brownies: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and line a 13x9 inch baking pan.
- Combine the butter, chocolate, and sugar in a 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 overbake 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 freezes really well.)
SALTED CARAMEL MOUSSE INSTRUCTIONS
- 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, vanilla 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 another half for cream layers.
- Fold a small part of the ½ whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture to loosen it up then fold the rest of the 1/2 whipped cream. 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.
CHOCOLATE SAUCE INSTRUCTIONS
- 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 a 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.
Sign up for my FREE Newsletter so you don’t miss a recipe!
I invested in a much needed large trifle dish. I bought mine on sale it’s called “Alex Piddy pave footed trifle dish” 20 x 21cm. It’s the exact same one Gemma has in the video, but you can get it from Amazon for £19.99ish. Just type in large trifle dish. Sorry I’m going on but I looked for this for agggggesss because I needed one for big family gatherings so there’s a tip! ****** I usually make homemade brownies but I had to make another dessert and tbh I just wasn’t well organised! So I used Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie… Read more »
Wow! This recipe was incredibly awesome! I love the sweet and the saltiness..the whole entire thing marrying together was like a dance happening in my mouth. It was magical. I didn’t add the chocolate sauce though, Just the salted caramel sauce. I added crushed Oreo between the layers. I also added crushed skor chocolate bar since I love them. It gave a little crunch to the trifle.. loved it! I used this as a birthday “cake”! They all were in awes looking at how pretty it was. It was another hit of your recipe Gemma! They all got into it… Read more »
Thank you Gemma….making this delicious trifle today.I make a decent caramel but it is never shiny but cloudy….how to fix this?
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.
Oh my this recipe was so perfect and delicious. The only thing I added was a few raspberries. The salted caramel sauce was the best I’ve ever made. I bought myself a large glass trifle dish and the entire recipe fit in here no waste. Tip Leave out of the fridge for 10 minutes before serving. It serves 12 people and I had a little leftover. Great for a large dinner party. Thanks Gemma for all your recipes. You’re brilliant.
I made this. And, in fact, I made half of it twice. The first time, half of the ingredients went down the sink drain: utter disaster. The second time it faired marginally better but it still wasn’t right. I’ll be honest – I went without watching the video beforehand. (Why watch a video – if the recipe is accurate it shouldn’t be necessary). Watch. The. Video. The video has instructions not found in the recipe. I think this was part of my issue. So “trifles are so easy” [statement made in the beginning of the video] made me chuckle. No,… Read more »
This is a great recipe! I made it several times with small variations such as walnuts, peanuts, pralines finelly crushed etc always a success.
Hello Gemma,
I love your recipes and they turn out to be good. I want to try this recipe , but could you tell me the ingredients in grams as the cup measures may vary.
As I live in india they could be different.
If you could send the full recipe measurements in gms it would be helpful and I could try this recipe.
Thanks
Yashodhara
Can I freeze this?
I’ve made this multiple times now and it is wonderful. I’ve changed it up twice, adding mascerated strawberries to the layers once, and then mascerated raspberries another time. The tartness of the berries lends a wonderful layer and actually complements the overall sweetness. Try it sometime!