Valentine’s Dessert - Berry Trifle with Chocolate Almond Flour Cake

I am not sure when it began, but for many years now our family Valentine’s Day dessert has been this Berry Trifle! We all love it and look forward to it every year.

It has four layers really: a chocolate almond flour cake, whipped cream, chocolate mousse and berries. I’ll share the recipe for the trifle and then the cake.

Chocolate Raspberry Trifle

Makes 24 small servings or 12 large.

Plan for some time to make the cake, refrigerate the mousse and the finished trifle.

Ingredients:

• 1 chocolate cake (see my recipe below for a chocolate almond flour cake recipe)

• 4 large egg yolks

• 1/2 cup plus 5 tbsp sugar

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut up

• 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped.

• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 12-16 oz. fresh raspberries or berry of choice

• Optional: Chocolate curls or cocoa powder, for garnish

Directions:

1. Prepare and bake cake.

2. While the cake cools, in a large metal bowl, combine egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water and butter.

3. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is pale and thickened and registers 160 degrees, about 7 minutes.

4. Remove bowl from saucepan and whisk in chocolate until smooth.

5. In a separate bowl, beat 1 cup of the cream with 2 tbsp of the sugar and the vanilla until medium firm-peaks form.

6. Fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture until no white remains. Cover the surface directly with plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

7. Once the cake has cooled, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes.

8. Whip remaining 1 1/2 cups cream with remaining 3 tbsp sugar to medium firm peaks.

9. Begin trifle layering. Spoon half of the cake cubes into a 4 quart glass bowl or dish. Compress slightly. Spread half of the Chocolate mousse (about 1 1/2 cups) over cake cubes. Top mousse with 1 pkg of the raspberries and half of the whipped cream (about 1 1/2 cups).

10. Repeat layering and garnish with chocolate curls or cocoa powder if desired.

11. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to overnight until serving.

Chocolate Almond Flour Cake

Makes one 8 or 9 inch cake.

Ingredients:

• ½ tablespoon unsalted butter for greasing the pan

• 4 large eggs

• ½ cup honey or maple syrup

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup almond flour blanched

• ½ cup cacao (or cocoa powder)

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a nonstick 8-inch cake pan with soft butter. Make sure the pan is truly nonstick. You can also use a well-greased 9-inch ceramoc or glass pie plate.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey, and vanilla extract.

3. Gradually whisk in the almond flour and cocoa powder.

4. Finally, whisk in the salt and baking soda. The batter will be fairly thin.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the center is set and a toothpick inserted in it comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

6. Cool the cake on a cooling rack until it reaches room temperature, about 30 minutes, then slice and serve. Keep the leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to a week.

We serve this on Valentine’s Day with Italian Chicken, Spaghetti and veggies. Italian Chicken was one of the first meals that Ryan ever made for me! I’m sure you’ll be like Melody and will “taste the love”!

What are your Valentine traditions?