White Chocolate Peppermint Trifle

Remember a few days ago when we posted the recipe for One Bowl Chocolate Cake and we told you it was very important to line the baking pan with parchment paper?

Last month Tall One was baking a cake for her friend Scott's birthday... or was it Steve's birthday? (We told you there have been A LOT of birthdays lately!) Anyways, while baking, she realized she was out of parchment paper but was feeling too lazy to run up the street and buy some more. As a result, when she flipped the cakes out of the pan, half of the cake stayed behind! Seriously, people! Parchment paper works wonders!!

Not wanting to waste 2 perfectly good cakes, she decided to improvise a bit and came up with this INCREDIBLE White Chocolate Peppermint Trifle. The cake was no longer usable for layering, but it was perfect to cube up and layer with creamy mousse for a super decadent dessert. The white chocolate mousse was inspired by the one and only Betty Crocker and boy does she know what she is doing with this recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

WHITE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT MOUSSE
-4 egg yolks
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 cup heavy cream
-1 cup white baking chips
-1 1/2 cups heavy cream
-2 tsp peppermint extract
-Green food coloring

-8 oz of whipped topping

Optional:
Mini chocolate chips

Start by baking the chocolate cake recipe of your choice. Let it cool then cut it into bit sized pieces and set aside.

For the mousse, place the egg yokes in the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed for about 3 minutes. The eggs will thicken and lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and beat for another minute.

Meanwhile, heat the 1 cup heavy cream over low heat in a medium saucepan on the stove top until it is very hot. Just before the cream reaches a simmer, remove it from the heat. Gradually stir at least half of the cream into the egg yokes in order to temper the mixture. If you add it all at once, the eggs will scramble from the heat. We think the best technique to temper eggs, is to slowly run the hot cream down the side of the bowl containing the eggs. This gives it a chance to cool slightly before hitting the eggs. It is also important to continuing stirring the mixture as you add the cream.

Once the eggs have been tempered, return the entire mixture (eggs, sugar, and cream) to the saucepan and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes (it may take a little longer) until the mixture thickens. Stir the mixture constantly while over the heat to avoid sticking or boiling. Add the white chocolate and peppermint extract and continue stirring, just until the chocolate has melted into the mixture. Transfer to a medium bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. The mixture will continue to thicken in the refrigerator forming a custard.

Remove the custard from the refrigerator and add about 30 drops of green food coloring, stirring until the color of the custard is consistent. In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment, beat 1 1/2 cups of cream on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold the custard into the whipped cream, gently mixing to form the white chocolate peppermint mousse. Refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the trifle.

Use a large clear serving bowl to assemble the trifle since you'll want to show off all of those pretty layers! Layer a third of the cubed cake in the bottom of the dish and top it with half of the mousse. Add another layer of cake followed by another layer of mousse. Top the mousse with the remaining cake. Finish the trifle off with a layer of whipped topping and a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips.

This will get the stamp of approval from hungry Spatulars (and Spatularettes!!) everywhere!

XOXO,

Tall and Small