Chocolate Fudge Brownie & Raspberry Trifle
Save RecipeHi Bold Bakers!
Trifles are not only impressive looking desserts but they are incredibly easy to make. This Chocolate Fudge Brownie & Raspberry Trifle is layer upon layer of rich, decadent chocolate that will knock your socks off!
I love trifle because of all the layers of flavor and texture. This trifle has Fudgy Brownie, Chocolate Mousse, Whipped Cream and Raspberries; all different textures and flavors that compliment each other well.
The brownie recipes I use religiously is called “Best Ever Fudge Brownie Recipe“ because that’s what it is. In all of my years of working as a pastry chef it is the best I have ever come across.
My easy Chocolate Mousse Recipe doesn’t contain raw eggs or gelatin which is a request I get a lot from viewers. It is mainly rich 72% chocolate, cream cheese, and cream and whipped together. It’s a really quick recipe to make and you still get a light mousse but without eggs or gelatin.
Layers of whipped cream and fresh raspberries break up the richness of the chocolate. The cream compliments the other flavors becasue the fat cuts the sweetness.
This Chocolate & Raspberry Trifle is not for the faint of heart. It’s a statement to how much you love chocolate.
This dessert delivers on two levels because it does taste as good as it looks.
Bake your brownies off in advance so you have them ready to go for assembly.
This is a perfect dessert for a dinner party because you can assemble it early in the day, or even the day before.
The flavors in the trifle just get better as it rests so give it some time before you eat it.
- 1 Best Ever Fudge Brownie recipe , cut into small cubes
- 1 cup (6oz/180g) dark chocolate
- 1 pack (8oz/225g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 cups (16floz/500ml) whipping cream
- 2 cups (12oz/360g) raspberries
- 2 cups (16floz/500ml) whipping cream
- Bake the Brownies as directed. The Brownies can be made up to 24 hours in advance of making your trifle.
- For the Easy Chocolate Mousse: In a bowl gently melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a Ban Marie. Set aside to cool.
- Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer whip up the cream cheese until loosened and no lumps.
- Pour in the cream and continue whipping until the mixture becomes thick. This is the base for your mousse.
- Take a spoonful of the cream cheese and quickly mix it into the melted chocolate then swiftly fold the chocolate mixture into the rest of the cream cheese. You will want to do this fast because the chocolate will start to stiffen quickly once added to the creamy mix.
- Once the melted chocolate is fully incorporated place in the fridge until needed. It will last for up to 3 days.
- Whip the second measurement of cream until it reaches soft peaks. No need to add any sugar or flavor to it. Set in the fridge until needed. If it goes soft while resting you can whip it up again to stiffen.
- Begin layering trifle: Lay half the brownie cubes into a 4-quart glass bowl or trifle dish. Compress slightly so there are no gaps.
- Spread half the chocolate mousse over brownies.
- Top mousse with the raspberries and half the whipped cream.
- Repeat layering and garnish with chocolate curls or cocoa powder and serve.
- This trifle can be made hours in advance or refrigerate up to overnight until serving.
The trifle's flavor and texture gets better the longer it sits. It's best made a few hours before serving.
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!
Have you made a recipe? Share photos on my website or across social media with the hashtag #boldbaker.
And don't miss my NEW Bold Baking recipes and tips. Sign up for my weekly email newsletter.
Recipe asks for 1 cup dark chocolate. Is that sweetened, semi, or not. Is it the chocolate bought in a block? Not sure what kind of chocolate to buy. Will chocolate chips work?
Than you
Hi Sheila,
I always use real chocolate, at least 70% cocoa solids. I tend to use Ghirardelli here in the US as I love the flavor. You can find a good brand near where you live. Check the back label, it will give you the information you need.
Baking chocolate is not real chocolate, it has too many additional ingredients and not sufficient cocoa solids for a good flavor.
70% cocoa solid chocolate is bitter sweet. 50% is semi sweet, and will work well in some recipes.
Seasons greetings to you and yours,
Gemma 🙂
looks yum! Gemma if i were to replace cocoa powder for dark chocolate, should i still use 1 cup? Pls guide.
Hi there,
I wonder if you mean to replace the chocolate with cocoa?
I am not too clear about this, is it for the brownies or the trifle?
In the mousse you could try it with cocoa, but you would need to use a little, a cup would be way too much. I think one or two tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder will be sufficient. You wil need to try it!
The chocolate can be omitted from the brownies if that is what you mean, but it will change the results,
Gemma 🙂
Sorry I dont understand .check out ur what?
Hi Sofia,
I am sorry, I have lost the thread for this comment,
Gemma 🙂
Hi gemma can you plz tel me the recipe of chocolate mousse cake.my son wants it for his birthday
Hum, I don’t have one to hand but check out my and maybe filling it with mousse.
Best,
Gemma.
Ma’am.. I am from India.. Here in India we get salted cream cheese. When we use that in our recipe it will ruin the total taste of it.. The salty taste take the flavour and it is disgusting.. Which type of cream cheese you use in your recipes.. Is it salted or Unsalted?And the other thing is here we get only 25%fat cream. When we beat it it will not become Fluffy like yours…today i’ve tried your brownie trifle with chocolate mousse… And the above mentioned cream and cream cheese ruined my recipe.. I am very sad.. Did you have any remedy for my problem? Please reply maam.. I am waiting for your answer
Hi Jasmine,
I am so sorry to hear that you are having issues with your ingredients.
The cream which I use for all of my recipes is fresh dairy cream from cow’s milk. This cream must be kept cold, it will spoil at room temperature. The cream which will whip up well will have a fat content of 35% – 49.4%. This is what is known as double/heavy cream. This is the only cream which will work in my ice cream recipes, and is the one which works best in my cheesecakes.
In some places, where there is no dairy industry, there are manufactured products, usually made with milk powders and fats. These are good for some applications, but they are no fresh cream. I am sorry, it cannot be actually made!
I do not know which creams are dairy cream in India. Amrit seems to be one, and Amul too I think, but I am not sure. Your store manager should be able to advise you.
Under 35% fat content it is indeed difficult to get cream to whip up. For a cheesecake you can use a gelling agent to set the cream.
This is how you would do this: Take two sheets of gelatin, or two teaspoons of gelatin or agar agar. Sponge the gelatin according to the pack, in a little cold water. When it is softened drain off the water. Then, if you have a microwave pop the gelatin in for about 10 secs, or until the gelatin has turned to liquid.
You can do this over a pan of hot water too.
Then, take a little of the cream, warm it and combine with the gelatin. Start whipping up the cheesecake mixture, and as it is forming add the gel/cream mix. Then straight into the pan.
*Do prepare the base before you start mixing.
*Do not overheat the cream.
I know this is a big response, but there is no easy answer to your problem.
The salted cream cheese is another matter, paneer, which is often made at home, can be creamed too, as in my cream cheese recipe here (https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/how-to-make-cream-cheese/). Really just do not add salt!
I hope this is of help to you,
Gemma 🙂
Ma’am…i saw your ginger bread trifle.. It looks yummy. Can I replace the gingerbread with Christmas fruitcake.. Will it works well.. And what we can use instead of cranberry.. Here in India we won’t get that.. Please give reply maam
Hi Jasmine,
NO!
This will not be good in this recipe, it is too heavy, and will not blend well with the other ingredients.
Use a light sponge cake for this in place of the gingerbread, the sponge in this recipe will work well for you,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma
Tried this recipe for Eid. I loved it. I also added some cherries in the layers. So it had a slight black forest flavour too.
I would add some sugar to the mousse coz it was not too sweet as I used dark chocolate for the brownie .
Looking forward to more recipes like these. Ive uploaded a pic of my trifle. Do let me know what you think 🙂
Sounds great! I love the addition of cherries.
Keep up the great work,
Gemma.
Thank you for this recipe! I was having a hard time finding what I was looking for in a chocolate raspberry trifle, and this was so it. Because I wanted something a little lighter, I did chocolate angel food cake instead of the brownie. The mousse was amazing and so easy to make. This one is definitely going in my family cookbook. I (and the rest of my family) can’t wait to have this one again!
Hi Sandy,
I am thrilled to hear that. Make sure you print it off now and keep the recipe safe. If you haven’t tried it already I have a tiramisu trifle that is also incredible.
Best,
Gemma.
Hi Gemma….thanks for this outstanding recipe! I served this to 9 adults on Christmas Eve to raves! Definitely serves a crowd as we had a lot left over. In the past I’ve made a trifle with cooked mousse, chocolate pound cake and Morello cherries but this recipe is superior, in my opinion. The brownies are decadent but the mousse, whipped cream and fresh raspberries offset them nicely. The layers make a beautiful presentation. Absolutely delicious!
Hi Sally,
I’m thrilled to hear that you had success with the recipe. It is definitely a great one to make for a crowd.
I often make and freeze the brownies so I have them when the mood takes me.
Best,
Gemma.
Hi Gemma I want to try out this recipe today but I’m not sure about how much heavy cream I need for the mousse, it says 500 ml twice? Hopefully you can answer as soon as possible, thank you in advance
Mina, read the recipe again! it tells you what to do with the first 500ml, and then what to do with the second 500 ml 🙂
In the video, you add vanilla and salt to the chocolate mousse layer. However, vanilla and salt are not listed in the ingredients, nor in the directions. I made the trifle for a large group yesterday, and it was a huge hit. I remembered the vanilla and pinch of salt from the video and added both.
Hi Jane,
Thank you, I am happy this was a success for you, I will check the written recipe,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma! I just finished the brownie for this recipe it it turned out reeeally fudgy as expected, but I’m a little concerned it will be too sweet, because I could only find 43% chocolate. Do you think adding a little bit of coffe to the chocolate mousse would work? Thank you! Love watching your videos (I think I watched all of them twice in the last couple of days, hahahaha)
Hi Amanda,
Yep, coffee and chocolate work really well together, though not so much with the raspberries. Do not make it too strong,
Gemma 🙂
I just made your trifle for our Cinco De Mayo potluck at work. I tweaked it to be a “Mexican Hot Chocolate” trifle by switching out the raspberries for some ground cinnamon in the chocolate mousse mixture. So delicious!! And I’ve told everyone who has raved about it (which was everyone who tasted it) to watch your youtube videos (which I subscribe to, of course).
Thanks for this recipe!! : )
Mel
That’s great to hear, Mel! Thanks so much for your feedback. I really appreciate it 🙂
Can you make a white chocolate mousse instead ?
Wouldn’t it go better with the raspberries?
Can u make the white chocolate mousse with the same instructions?
Hi Isera,
White chocolate is delicious, and works really well with raspberries. Thank you for that suggestion, I will add it to my list,
Gemma 🙂
what kind of recipe are you doing tomorrow
Hi Elizabeth,
sorry, I was bogged down and did not get to respond to you in time, you will know now that is was Sorbet!
Gemma 🙂
Hello! Your video’s help me a lot.Actually I have a problem while baking a cake.it’s just that whenever I make a cake it becomes a brownie. And my dad’s birthday is going to come on 12th may and I want to make a chocolate birthday cake for him.can u tell me why my cake get’s a brownie texture instead of a cake texture.
Hi Mariam,
If you have a problem with your oven temperature it will result in a ‘fallen’ cake, which will be like a brownie!
Check out my Best ever Chocolate Cake here on my website, follow the instructions carefully, and you should have a good result,
Gemma 🙂
I just tried this trifle…
It was absolutely delicious!
This will definitely be saved to my recipe box! 😉
Hi Kara,
Yea! I am so happy to hear that. A show stopper for a gathering too,
Gemma 🙂
Dear Gemma,
I would like to ask you for permission for the use of your recipes and images, of course, telling you what I would use them for. It would be great to tell you about this by email.
Thanks in advance,
Rebecca.
Hi Rebecca,
Please do let me know your ideas. My business email is info@biggerbolderbaking.com.
I am happy for people to share my ideas, but it is important that any sharing of my content is properly referenced,
kind regards,
Gemma
Hello my mentor …
I just love watching your videos .. I feel i am addicted to all of your videos … I impatiently wait for your new video to be uploaded every thursday ..
Ooo and by the way i made your strawberry cream cheese pancakes today they turned out to be really delicious ones … I owe you thanks for that too ??
This triffle is truely very impressive looking dessert … Will surely make it …
Thanks a zillion sweet gemma … God bless you !!!?
Hi there Wajiha,
Thank you for your kind comments, I am happy to have you with us,
Gemma 🙂
Hello Gemma! I always baked but with not much success. Watching your videos now my kids and wife enjoying my baking. You are making it very easy and fun being in the kitchen. Thanks. Micky
Hi Micky,
That is so good to hear, I am happy to have you with us,
Gemma 🙂
Good morning! Another recipe well done. You said you can go lower than 72% cocoa but can you go higher, such as 85%? What kind of adjustments do you suggest if any?
Hi Bella,
I would not suggest going higher as you need an element of cocoa butter to allow the chocolate to melt and blend with the other ingredients, and the flavor is good at 70% ish!
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma! I think the trifle looks so delicious, I’m definitely going to try this out! Reminded me a but if a Black Forest Cake except rasberries instead of cherries.
An idea for a Bold Baking Basic video is how to make different glazes? Speaking of glazes, is it possible for you to try different variations of a mugnut? That could be a separate video itself. The reason is I’m not a fan of jelly donuts, but I love chocolate ones!
Have a great day,
Sidra
Hi Sidra,
I intend to do a video on frostings in the next few weeks. Some of my followers have reported great results using nutella in place of the jelly for the donut recipe, so this is worth a shot! Stay tuned,
Gemma 🙂
I just love every thing you do on your show I have learn a lot thank you so much.
That’s great to hear, Lydia. Thank you so much for watching 🙂
Yum yum yum????????????
Hi gemma,
I was just waiting for your video and when the message came to me I was just wanna see it as I’ve subscribe your channel,well this trifle looks awesome than all of your trifles I will definitely make them tomorrow and I will tell you how they make
Yah! What about mint chocolate chips pancake
Thanks
Bye,
That’s great to hear! I would love to see pictures of your trifle. Stay tuned for more pancakes 🙂