These mini chocolate trifles are the easiest dessert you will make all year. Layers of fudgy brownie pieces, creamy chocolate pudding, fresh whipped cream, and crunchy toffee bar bits are all assembled in individual glasses so there is zero messy scooping and every single person gets a gorgeous portion.
A Quick Look At This Recipe
- 📋 Recipe: Mini Chocolate Trifles
- ⏲️ Ready In: 20 min.
- 👪 Servings: 4 individual trifles
- 🔪 Difficulty: Easy
- 💭 Top Tip: Spread each layer all the way to the edge of the glass so those beautiful stripes show from the outside.
Why You'll Love This Brownie Trifle Recipe
- Individual servings mean no messy cutting or scooping and everyone gets their own perfectly portioned dessert.
- Ready in 20 minutes with simple assembly and a few store-bought shortcuts.
- Those gorgeous layers in clear glasses look absolutely stunning with almost no effort.
- They taste even better after chilling a few hours or overnight, making them a perfect make-ahead dessert for entertaining.
- Endlessly customizable, you can swap the candy bar, change the pudding flavor, or add your own toppings.
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These individual brownie trifle cups are always a crowd pleaser and so easy to pull together. They are the perfect dessert for any chocolate lover. The best part? Making these in individual servings means no messy cutting or scooping at all. Everyone gets their own perfectly portioned dessert that looks like it came straight from a bakery. Plus they do not need to set the way a large trifle does, so you can make them ahead or serve them right away.
If you love chocolate desserts you might also enjoy our Easy Dirt Pudding Recipe - another no-stress crowd pleaser made with simple ingredients. You might also love our Individual Mini Trifle Cups, Caramel Apple Trifle, Black Forest Trifle, our our Easter Trifle with Cadbury Mini Eggs.
What Is a Chocolate Trifle?
A trifle is a classic English dessert built from layers of cake, custard, whipped cream, and often fruit or jelly. It is traditionally assembled in one large glass bowl so the layers are beautifully visible from the sides.
This version swaps sponge cake for rich fudgy brownies, uses chocolate pudding in place of custard, and is made in individual glasses instead of one large dish. You get all the drama of a classic trifle with none of the serving chaos.
Ingredients
Find a full list of ingredients with measurements in the recipe card below.
- Brownies: Two-bite brownies are a great store bought easy option or use your favorite homemade brownies cut into bite-sized pieces. Our One Bowl Brownie Recipe would be perfect.
- Pudding: We used instant pudding made with milk, but you could also use already preprated chocolate pudding, or homemade chocolate pudding.
- Whipped Cream: We used a few shortcuts for this recipe, but the whipped cream isn't one of them. We love homemade whipped cream. It only takes a few minutes to make and tastes so much better than a substitution like cool whip, but you can use whatever you prefer.
- Toffee chocolate bars: Skor bars are the Canadian go-to and they are perfect here. In the US use Heath candy bars. Any hard toffee bar covered in chocolate works well, or substitute your favorite chocolate bar.
What Glasses to Use
Any clear glass or jar in the 8 to 12 oz range works beautifully for individual trifles. Straight-sided glasses are ideal because you can see every layer from the outside. Mason jars, short juice glasses, or small dessert glasses all work well. The key is using a clear glass, as you want those gorgeous chocolate and cream stripes to show.
Variations
- Peanut Butter Cup: Love peanut butter cups? Substitute them for the chocolate bars and add a peanut butter touch. You could also add some real chopped peanuts as well for a little crunch.
- Turtle Chocolate Trifle: If you're a lover of turtles chocolates, substitute them in for the chocolate bar pieces. Also add some caramel sauce and/or chocolate sauce as an extra layer, or add a layer of butterscotch pudding too, and some chopped pecans.
- Chocolate Covered Strawberry: Love chocolate covered strawberries? Omit the chocolate bar pieces and substitute layers fresh cut strawberries.
- Black Forest Trifle: If you love Black Forest cake, add a layer of cherry pie filling to your chocolate trifle and substitute chocolate curls and chocolate shavings for the chocolate bar pieces. You could even use chocolate cake instead of the fudgy brownie bites.
- For The Holidays: Add colorful red, green, and white sprinkles for Christmas, star sprinkles and sparklers for New Years, heart sprinkles for Valentine's Day.
- Gluten Free: Substitute gluten-free brownies for the brownie chunks. Use a gluten-free box of brownie mix to make the brownies. The pudding, skor bar, and whipped cream are all gluten-free.
- Mini Egg: Mini egg lovers you will adore this Easter trifle with mini eggs version.
How to Make Mini Chocolate Trifles: Step by Step
- Step 1: Build the first brownie layer. Set out 4 individual glasses or small jars. Slice 1½ to 2 two-bite brownies into quarters for each glass and press them into an even layer on the bottom. Spreading them all the way to the edge of the glass creates those picture-perfect visible stripes.
- Step 2: Add the chocolate pudding layer. Prepare the instant pudding according to the package directions. Spoon about ¼ cup of pudding over the brownie layer in each glass.
- Step 3: Add the whipped cream layer. Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Spoon about ¼ cup over the pudding layer in each glass.
- Step 4: Add the toffee bar layer. Chop the toffee bars into small pieces and sprinkle a generous layer over the whipped cream in each glass.
- Step 5: Repeat and chill. Repeat all four layers in each glass - brownies, pudding, whipped cream, and toffee bar pieces. Cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours before serving. Hold the final toffee bar topping and add it just before serving to keep it perfectly crunchy.
Expert Tip
Make the layers visible: If you want those picture-perfect layers, spread each layer all the way to the edge of your glass so people can see the stripes from the outside.
Make-Ahead
- Make them the night before: Perfect for party prep - they taste even better after sitting overnight.
- Add final candy topping just before serving: This keeps the candy crunchy if you're making them more than a few hours ahead
Storage
- Store the individual trifles covered (plastic wrap works great) in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. After that, the brownies can start to get too soft and the whipped cream may start to deflate.
- Can You Freeze Them? I don't recommend freezing these trifles. The whipped cream doesn't freeze well and will become watery when thawed. The pudding texture also changes after freezing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Double the recipe and layer everything in a large trifle bowl or glass serving dish. A large trifle will need 4 to 6 hours of chilling time, or overnight.
I use 8-12 ounce glasses or small mason jars. You want something tall enough to show off the layers but not so big that it's too large of a portion. Anything from a juice glass to a small dessert cup works great.
Yes, Cool Whip works as a substitute. Homemade whipped cream only takes a few minutes and the flavor difference is noticeable, but Cool Whip is a perfectly fine shortcut.
You can make them up to 24 hours in advance and store them wraped in plastic wrap in the fridge. The flavors meld and improve after sitting for a little while.
Make sure you're using instant pudding mix (not cook-and-serve) and let it sit for the full 5 minutes after mixing. It should thicken to a spreadable consistency. If it's still thin, pop it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
More Chocolate Desserts
If you try these Brownie Mini Chocolate Trifles or any other recipe on my blog please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
Recipe
Mini Chocolate Trifles
Ingredients
- 280 g package two-bite brownies
- 113 g package instant chocolate Jello pudding
- 2 cups milk
- 191 g package Skor minis chocolate bars
- 473 mL whipping cream
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Use 4 individual glasses, or small jars to make individual chocolate trifles, or double this recipe for one large trifle in a large bowl or trifle dish. To begin with, slice 1 ½ or 2 of the two-bite brownies into quarters, and create a brownie layer on the bottom of each of the four glasses with the brownie pieces.280 g package two-bite brownies
- Prepare the chocolate pudding according to the package directions, and add about ¼ cup of pudding on top of the brownies in each glass, as the pudding layer in the trifle.113 g package instant chocolate Jello pudding, 2 cups milk
- Whip the cream with sugar and vanilla, and use a big spoon to add about ¼ cup as the fourth layer.473 mL whipping cream, 2 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Chop the chocolate bars, and sprinkle over the top, as the final layer.191 g package Skor minis chocolate bars
- Repeat all the layers again in each glass, starting with the brownies, then the pudding, the whipped cream, and finishing with the Skor bar pieces on top of the trifle. Once the whole thing is put together, chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving.
Video
Notes
- For one large trifle: Double all ingredients and layer in a large trifle bowl or glass serving dish. Allow 4 to 6 hours chilling time or overnight.
- Make it your own: Swap pudding flavors, use different chocolate bars, or add a drizzle of chocolate or caramel sauce between layers.
- Storage: Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Best enjoyed within 24 hours for the best texture.
- Gluten free: Use gluten-free brownies. All other ingredients are naturally gluten free.
Dannyelle Nicolle-Ramjist says
Any chocolate lover will adore this delicious and easy to make brownie trifle.
dnr says
Glad to hear they liked it 🙂
Stephanie says
This trifle is so yummy! I just made it for a party with family this weekend, and it was a hit!
Emily {WhipperBerry} says
Yum! thanks for linking up!
Tammy says
Soooo loving the bunting. 🙂
Allana says
Martin never eats my trifle, but has informed me that not only is yours better but that I have to switch to making it this way at Christmas. Out goes Grandma's trifle, in comes Dannyelle's, I guess! It was amazing!
Kim says
Oh my! The dessert looks wonderful. The bunting is the cutest thing I've ever seen!
connie says
probably the best trifle I've ever eaten.
Heather Benjamin says
This is an easy recipe to make and is always a hit! Very tasty and can be made up ahead of time. Great idea, thanks!