Chocolate Crunch Mocha Mini Trifles

If you're looking for a simple-to-prepare dessert that is loaded with decadent chocolate and rich coffee flavor, these Chocolate Crunch Mocha Mini Trifles might just be your ticket to indulgent bliss. There are so many wonderful textures and flavors layered up in this dessert. Coffee-infused vanilla pudding and crushed chocolate sandwich cookies collide with chunks of moist chocolate cake in this magical treat. Smooth whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles finish off the layers in this crowd-pleasing dessert.

I love mini desserts. They are so much fun to serve and even more fun to eat. I shared my Black Forest Mini Trifles with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream with you just before Christmas last year. This dessert is quite similar in terms of preparation and presentation. I utilize a store-bought cake mix and boxed pudding mix here to make my time (and mess) in the kitchen less. I do make my whipped cream from scratch, but, of course, you could use a store-bought frozen whipped topping if you want to hasten things even more during prep time.

Note that I do recommended assembling these, at least, a few hours in advance - even better if it can be the day before. However, I recommend waiting to add the chocolate sprinkles until shortly prior to service ... especially if presentation is important to you. The sprinkles can "bleed" into the whipped cream if placed on the trifles too far in advance.

Yields 8 mini trifles.

Old-Fashioned Tapioca Pudding

My children adore those store-bought pudding cups - especially the tapioca ones.  However, I'm not so in love with the list of ingredients.  Seriously - why the need for artificial flavors and colors in simple tapioca pudding? (And, I won't even begin to discuss the ingredients listed that I cannot even pronounce.) Furthermore, the last time we did purchase some, I swore to never buy them again due to the fact that there was maybe like, ten tapioca pearls in each cup. (So, basically, it was a rather crappy version of vanilla pudding.)

So, what's a mom to do?  Toss a bag of pearl tapioca in the grocery cart and whip up a from-scratch version at home.   Is it a little more time-consuming compared to grabbing a four-pack of ready-to-eat pudding at the store? Sure. But, I can honestly say that it is darn well worth it. My kiddos definitely loved it and I've already planned double the batch the next time.

 

The ingredient list for this recipe is a simple one - tapioca, milk, eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla.  I used Bob's Red Mill pearl tapioca. It cost just under $4 for a 24-ounce bag, which will yields many batches.  You can purchase a smaller box for a little less at most supermarkets in the pudding and gelatin section if you cannot find BRM brand.

Yields 3 1/2 cups (about 4 servings).