| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 12 hr 45 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Inactive: | 12 hr |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 16 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 (approximately 12 ounces each) chocolate pound cakes
- 1/2 cup black cherry jam
- 1/2 cup cherry brandy
- 2 cups drained bottled sour cherries (recommended: Morello)
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, minimum 70 percent cocoa solids, chopped
- 1 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 8 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1-ounce bittersweet chocolate
- Special Equipment: Large wide trifle bowl
Instructions
- Slice the chocolate pound cake and make jam sandwiches with the cherry jam, and layer the bottom of a large wide trifle bowl. Pour over the cherry brandy so that the cake soaks it up, and then top with the drained cherries. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to macerate while you make the custard.
- Melt the chocolate on low to medium heat in the microwave, checking after 2 minutes, though it will probably need 4 minutes. Or you can place it in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once the chocolate is melted, ser aside while you get on with the custard.
- In a saucepan warm the milk and cream. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cocoa in a large bowl. Pour the warm milk and cream into the bowl whisking it into the yolks and sugar mixture. Stir in the melted chocolate, scraping the sides well with a rubber spatula to get all of it in, and pour the custard back into the rinsed saucepan. Cook over a medium heat until the custard thickens, stirring all the time. Make sure it doesn’t boil, as it will split and curdle. Keep a sink full of cold water so that if you get scared you can plunge the bottom of the custard pan into the cold water and
- whisk like mad, which will avert possible crisis.
- The custard will get darker as it cooks and the flecks of chocolate will melt once the custard has thickened. And you do need this thick, so don’t panic so much that you stop cooking while it is still runny. Admittedly, it continues to thicken as it cools and also when it’s chilling in the refrigerator. Once it is ready, pour into a bowl to cool and cover the top of the custard with cling wrap to prevent a skin from forming.
- When the custard is cold, pour and spread it over the chocolate cake layer in the trifle bowl, and leave in the refrigerator to set, covered in plastic wrap overnight.
- When you are ready to decorate, softly whip the cream for the topping and spread it gently over the layer of custard. Grate the chocolate over the top.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 16 servings |
| Calories | 387 |
| Total Fat | 29 g |
| Saturated Fat | 17 g |
| Carbohydrates | 28 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 19 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Cholesterol | 167 mg |
| Sodium | 57 mg |
Reviews
Have made this several times substituting the cherries for NZ Black Doris Plums. It is superb! Well worth the effort. Delicious and even better the next day!
This is amazing as a Christmas dessert!
Amazing.
A bit bland and more on the bitter side for my family. I think brandy-soaked cherries (as done by another reviewer) would have added a lot of flavor. It is also quite time consuming (which I don’t typically mind if the end result is worth it).
I make this trifle every Christmas all my family love it. Thanks Nigella.
So, so. A bit too chocolaty for my family…
I make this often and it is fantastic. In the state you can find Morello Cherries at Trader Joes. I also asked the bakery at Whole Foods for one of their un-iced chocolate cakes they will sell these to you just ask.
Made this and loved it. It’s a huge recipe so I made it in two smaller trifle bowls, and made my own chocolate cake, and used the syrup from the morello cherries instead of buying a whole bottle of cherry brandy, and it was rich and delicious. I only had to stir the custard for 5 to 10 minutes before it thickened too, and added some fresh cherries on top. A winner!
I couldn’t find the recommended morello cherries anywhere in my local stores. I had to settle for canned tart cherries packed in water. They did not look or taste that good straight from the can. Hmmm, what to do! I soaked them in the cherry brandy overnight and oh boy, what an improvement! Couldn’t find chocolate pound cake so I just made a boxed fudge chocolate cake and this worked fine. Made my chocolate cake jam sandwiches and put them in the bottom of the dish. Poured my bowl of brandy soaked cherries over the top of the cake. The chocolate custard is to die for! I got lazy and used Cool Whip on top. Everyone loved it! Heard a lot of mmmmm’s from those taking their first bite. When you hit one of those brandy soaked cherries….oh boy! I thought the brandy might be too strong but I actually think I will use a bit more than the half cup next time! It was a great contrast to the sweetness of everything else and not at all too strong! Everyone agreed this was a keeper!
I made this for Valentine’s Day 2011. It was absolutely delicious and lasted the week. I used a devil’s food chocolate cake and stirred the pudding constantly for about 45 minutes, removing it from heat when I thought it might be getting carried away. My boyfriend told me I wouldn’t need to take the rest to work as he would be finishing it all no problem. And…he did. Thanks Nigella!