Chocolate Brownie Trifle

Ummmm ... chocolate and wine. Does it get any better than that? Not much! While I was in Charleston I was invited to tag along to a dinner party held by Natalie's friend and former co-worker, Sharon. She had a great meal planned for us, but Natalie was in charge of bringing the dessert. Her suggestion was a quick, chocolatey trifle. Yum.

Our trifle was easy to put together, but it was also put together on the fly. The recipe called for instant coffee - we didn't have any and don't drink it and didn't want to buy it. So we left it out. It also called for condensed milk, which we also didn't have and forgot to buy so Sharon bought us two cans to choose from and dropped them off. Yet besides all of that, the trifle still turned out fantastic.

It's an easy dessert. People love it. It's very sweet but light-tasting because of the pudding and Cool Whip. It's great with a cup of coffee (and) a glass of wine! And it's chocolate. Wait. Did I say that already?

Chocolate Brownie Trifle
Adapted from Allrecipes
Makes 8 to 10 servings
Printer-friendly version

Ingredients
1 recipe plain brownies
1 package instant chocolate pudding
1/2 cup water
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 8-ounce containers frozen whipped topping, softened
1 chocolate bar, chopped or shaved

Directions
1. Prepare brownies and cool completely. Cut into 1-inch squares.
2. In a large bowl, combine pudding, water and sweetened condensed milk. Whisk until smooth, then fold in one container of whipped topping.
3. In a trifle bowl or glass serving dish, layer half of brownies, half of pudding and half of remaining container of whipped-topping. Repeat. Sprinkle chopped chocolate or shavings over top. Refrigerate at least 8 hours before serving.