A spoonful of this Chocolate Caramel Trifle is the perfect bite of moist chocolate cake, creamy pudding, and rich caramel. This is the ideal decadent dessert to satisfy your chocolate and caramel cravings.
We have all the best Chocolate Trifle Recipes for you to try! Including a traditional Chocolate Trifle that's divine.
A moist devil's food cake paired with simple chocolate pudding is great, but top it with rich caramel sauce, and you have a match made in Heaven!
Chocolate Trifles are one of our favorite desserts to serve. You can layer them in a large trifle dish or make these cute little individual servings. Bringing a tray of these out to serve to guests never fails to impress!
With every bite, you get a bit of moist cake, pudding, light and airy whipped cream, and that rich caramel drizzle. Talking will cease around the table as everyone delights in the ever-so-simple treat you have served.
Don't care for caramel? Make my classic chocolate trifle recipe instead!
Jump to:
More Trifle Recipes
- Chocolate Trifle
- Chocolate Toffee Trifle
- Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Trifle
- No-Bake Caramel Apple Cheesecake Trifle
- Chocolate Cherry Trifle
Chocolate Caramel Trifle Ingredients
There are only a few ingredients in this trifle, so it’s easier than it looks to put together.
- Chocolate Cake - this serves as the base of your trifle, and you can either make a homemade chocolate cake or use a boxed variety.
- Chocolate Pudding - you want to make sure to use instant pudding, not cook and serve.
- Caramel Sauce - you can buy a jar or make your own caramel sauce, which is incredible.
- Whipped Cream - for the best flavor, we recommend making your own whipped cream. However, you can use a container of Cool Whip.
Can I Use a Ready-Made Cake for My Trifle?
The best thing about this recipe is that you can definitely make it even easier on yourself. A ready-made chocolate cake from the bakery department is a great substitute if you don't have time to wait for a cake to bake.
In fact, for a super-fast solution to dessert, grab the ready-made cake, pudding cups, Cool Whip, and a jar of caramel sauce.
While not as good, the process can take half the time and still taste delicious. Not the method I would use every time; it's great for when you have a half-hour to make dessert for a crowd.
Is Cooked Pudding Better Than Instant Pudding?
When we are shopping in the baked goods aisle, we often pass right by the cooked pudding options. That doesn't mean they aren't great. In this recipe, they are a perfect option, but only if you have time to allow them to cool down completely.
The instant pudding is just as delicious and much faster to make and have set up for use in this caramel chocolate trifle recipe. Choose what you prefer, and use it for this recipe with no worries.
How to Make an Easy Caramel Sauce
While we have made homemade caramel sauce many times, it usually takes a little bit of work. That means, more often than not, grabbing the jar of a good brand at the grocery store.
Here's how to make a trifle with condensed milk.
Recently, we discovered a dulce de leche recipe that is very caramelly and super easy to make. All you need is one can of sweetened condensed milk.
Tip: Keep a can of sweetened and unsweetened condensed milk in your pantry. They come in handy in a pinch all the time!
Pour the sweetened condensed milk into an oven-safe dish, then loosely top it with aluminum foil and place it in a water bath. Slide this into the oven preheated to 425 degrees F.
Let it cook for around 1 hour, then remove it from the oven. You'll have a thick and rich caramel sauce that works great for this recipe.
You may also like our homemade chocolate caramel fondue recipe.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 - Bake Your Cake
First, you will follow the directions on the cake mix and place it in the oven to bake as directed in a 13 x 9-inch pan.
Step 2 - Make Your Pudding
While the cake is baking, you can prepare your pudding mix according to the package directions. Set this aside or in the refrigerator until ready to assemble.
Step 3 - Make Your Whipped Cream
Next, you will make your homemade whipped cream with heavy whipping cream, a bit of sugar, and vanilla extract.
Place the heavy whipping cream in a large bowl with ⅓ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
Once the cake has been baked and cooled, you will crumble it into chunks and begin the assembly process.
Step 4 - Assemble
Amazon Pick: Mini Trifle Bowl, Set of 8
Start by placing a bit of the cake at the bottom of your dessert cup.
Top that with a layer of pudding, a layer of whipped topping, a drizzle of caramel, and then repeat.
Drizzle caramel sauce over the top and add some chocolate pieces or shavings before serving.
Tips for Making a Chocolate Trifle with Caramel
- The light and fluffy texture of Devils Food Cake is the perfect complement to chocolate pudding, but you could also use any chocolate cake you like in the recipe.
- Most recipes, including this one, are
so much better if you make your own whipped cream that’s lightly sweetened. However, if you are short on time, grab a tub of Cool Whip. - Trifles tend to look better if you make sure your layers go all the way to the side of your dish or cup and don’t have any gaps.
- This trifle is great for almost any festive occasion: Christmas, birthdays, Sunday dinner, potlucks, picnics, 4th of July, or bridal/baby showers.
Let Us Know If You Try The Recipe!
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Printable Recipe
Chocolate Caramel Trifle
Equipment
- Trifle Dish or Cups
Ingredients
- 1 box Devil’s Food Cake (or any chocolate cake baked in a 13×9 pan)
- 4 cups whole milk
- 2 packages Jell-O Dark Chocolate Instant Pudding
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream sweetened with ⅓ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla (or 24 ounces of Cool Whip)
- 1 12-16 ounce jar caramel sauce
- Chocolate Shavings for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Bake your cake according to package instructions in a 9×13 inch pan. Let cool completely and then cut or break into 1-inch cubes.
- While cake is baking, make your whipped cream by placing the heavy whipping cream in a large bowl with ⅓ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
- For the chocolate pudding, follow package instruction to make chocolate pudding using whole milk.
- If making individual servings, divide cake into how many servings you’ll make (at least 6-8), and place half of each serving in the bottom of the cup, jar or dish. If using a large trifle dish, place half of the cake pieces in the bottom.
- Create the second layer by topping the cake with pudding. Make sure to go all the way to the edges to create a defined layer.
- Create a layer of whipped cream (or Cool Whip), ensuring you spread it all the way to the edge. Then spread half of the caramel sauce making sure to spread it all the way to the edge.
- Repeat all the layers (cake, chocolate pudding, whipped cream, and caramel) at least one more time. Drizzle with more caramel sauce and finish with shaved chocolate if desired. Cover, refrigerate and serve when ready.
Notes
- The light and fluffy texture of Devils Food Cake is our favorite complement to chocolate pudding, but you could also use any type of chocolate cake or chocolate brownie in the recipe.
- Most recipes, including this one, are so much better if you make your own whipped cream that’s slightly sweetened. However, if short on time, grab a tub of Cool Whip.
- Trifles tend to look better if you make sure your layers go all the way to the side of your dish or cup and don’t have any gaps.
This recipe can be made the night before and stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve. - This trifle is great for almost any festive occasion: birthdays, church, potlucks, picnics, 4th of July, Christmas, New Years, or bridal/baby showers.
Carole says
When using real whipping cream ... how far in advance can it be made and put in the frig?
Erin Henry says
You can make it the night before, Carole.
Ann says
Oh. My. Gosh! Now I know what my dream looks like. I could die for it. How come I never tried this? Your chocolate caramel trifle is so visually appealing. It would look so impressive on the table. Are there people on the earth who could resist this? Get a grip Ann. Get a grip.
I’d like to make this for our next friend’s gathering. But I’m so terrified that I can screw it up and this won’t turn out the way I expect this to. Maybe I need some time to practice before presenting this to my family and friends.
Erin, thank you so much for this treasure and all of your helpful tips. Your site is wonderful. I’m so lucky to have stumbled across it. I really appreciate all of your hard work and effort. Keep it up!
Erin Henry says
So glad you found us, Ann! We know you can make this recipe no problem!