Name: Black Forest Trifle Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 3 h 5 min
Yield: 20
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 (9x13 inch) chocolate cake (from scratch or from a boxed mix); 1 pack (102 grams) instant vanilla pudding mix; 1 pack (170 grams) instant chocolate pudding; 3 ½ cups milk; 1 cup sour cream; 1 tub cool whip topping; 1 (650 ml) canned cherry pie filling; chocolate shavings

Go to the Recipe

Black Forest Trifle Cake is a delicious, easy, elegant, and huge dessert that you can make for a party or a crowd! You will enjoy each scoop of creamy and rich goodness.

Close up shot of black forest trifle cake.

I rarely make a dessert so grand because my family is very picky about desserts. And more so, we never have big gatherings in our house so… I am partial to easy, and simple homey baked goods like this Apple Loaf Cake or Pineapple Loaf Cake.

However, trifles have got me so hooked lately. I love how it is so easy to put together, and why haven’t I known? It is made of all creamy pudding and cream which I love! And surprise, surprise! My kids love it, too!

So today, I bring you Black Forest Trifle Cake.

Black forest trifle dessert on a cake bowl.

Pointers and Tips

As I have mentioned, this dessert is kinda’ huge (at least for my family). So you can plan on making this if you have guests coming over. You can also bring this to potlucks and gatherings.
Trifles are very easy to make. In this recipe, you can bake a 9×13 chocolate cake using a box mix. Or if you feel like making it from scratch, you can use my Devil’s Food Sheet cake recipe (link in the recipe card).
The rest of the ingredients are a simple mix and whisk. Then you are ready to layer them.
There is actually no strict sequence to the layering here. You can interchange the position of the chocolate and vanilla pudding. You can switch to a vanilla-flavored cake, too if you wish!
This Black Forest Trifle is a scoop-out type of dessert. You can’t expect to be able to make neat slices out of it. I use a big spoon to serve it to my girls’ plates.

No Trifle Bowl, No problem

While there is actually a dedicated trifle bowl to make trifle desserts, you certainly 100% do not need one. Instead, you can use any large glass bowl, or even baking dishes ( you may have to make 2 or smaller trifles for this recipe if that’s the case)
I used my 3 in 1 cake dome which is inverted to be a punch bowl. It is one of my favorite things on my kitchen counter.

The ingredients for the Black Forest Trifle.

Let’s Make Black Forest Trifle

The Puddings

To make the vanilla pudding, stir together the vanilla pudding mix, milk and sour cream until smooth. In another bowl, stir together the chocolate pudding mix, milk and sour cream until smooth.

Making the vanilla and chocolate pudding.

Layer Your Ingredients

Layer half of your cubed chocolate cake at the bottom of your glass bowl. Drop dollops of the vanilla cream on top and spread it out. Because the cake cubes are bumpy, just spread as best as you can.

The chocolate cake cubes at the bottom of the bowl.

Pour and spread half of the cherry pie filling.

Next, arrange the remaining chocolate cake cubes in a single layer on top. Pour dollops of the chocolate pudding and spread. Spread the remaining cherry pie filling, except for ½ cup.

Cover everything with cool whipped topping ( how much is up to you). Then decorate the top with the remaining cherry pie filling. Lastly, use a grater to sprinkle chocolate shavings on top.

Chill this in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

Spreading the cool whip topping on the trifle.

Enjoy! We feasted on this after dinner for several days and it is such a nice way to end a meal. Happy layering!

Black Forest Trifle Cake

Yield: 20

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Additional Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes

Black Forest Trifle Cake is a delicious, easy, elegant, and huge dessert that you can make for a party or a crowd!

Ingredients

1 (9x13 inch) chocolate cake (from scratch or from a boxed mix)
1 pack (102 grams) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 pack (170 grams) instant chocolate pudding
3 ½ cups milk
1 cup sour cream
1 tub cool whip topping
1 (650 ml) canned cherry pie filling
chocolate shavings

Instructions

Prepare and bake your 9x13 inch chocolate cake as per the package instruction. Or use my Devil's Food Sheet Cake recipe here.
Let the cake cool completely, then cut into 2 inches cubes.
In a bowl, mix together vanilla pudding mix, 1 ½ cup milk and ½ cup sour cream until smooth.
In another bowl, stir together chocolate pudding mix, 2 cups milk and ½ cup sour cream until smooth.
In a large trifle bowl, or any large and deep glass container, arrange half of the chocolate cake cubes in a single layer. Drop dollops of the vanilla pudding on top and spread evenly as best as you can.
Pour half of the cherry pie filling on top and spread it out.
Layer the remaining chocolate cake over top. Drop dollops of the chocolate pudding on top. Spread evenly. Pour and spread the remaining cherry pie filling on top, but reserve about ½ cup.
Spread as much cool whipped topping as needed to cover everything. Spread the whipped cream evenly then decorate the top with the reserved cherry pie filling. Using a grater, dust the top with shaved chocolate.
Chill the trifle for at least 2 hours before serving.

Notes

You can use any large glass container that is deep so that you can layer the ingredients nicely.
You can also make this in glass baking dishes and yield 2 (or more) containers of desserts.