This recipe evolved quite by accident in the restaurant kitchen on a particularly harried day. The baker had put a pan of blond brownies in the oven, and in the rush had left them in too long. When I looked at them, and then at her, our faces fell—the brownies were burned. But we had to have that dessert. “Don’t worry,” I told her, “I’ll think of something.” I knew I had to act quickly to get the desserts to the table. So I cut the brownies into pieces and carefully trimmed off the burned edges. I crumbled up the good part, sprinkled it with sherry, covered it with chocolate pudding and topped it with fresh whipped cream—and our Chocolate Trifle was born. Today it is one of our most requested desserts. Hope y’all enjoy. Oh, by the way, you really don’t have to go to the trouble of burning the brownies!
Recipe information
Yield
serves 20-25
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 13 × 9 × 2-inch pan. In a bowl, beat the eggs and butter together; add the brown sugar, then gradually add the flour and mix well. Stir in the vanilla. Fold in the nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut (if using). Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.
Step 2
Prepare the pudding according to the package directions. Let cool slightly. Crumble the brownies into chunks, put them back into the glass dish, and sprinkle with sherry. Spoon the pudding over the brownies. Beat the cream with the granulated sugar until stiff. Spoon the whipped cream onto the completely cooled trifle. Refrigerate until serving time.
