Miniature Black Forest Cake Trifle Recipe

I believe that all things are even better in miniature form, whether it’s a harmonica, animal figurines or paintings, tiny things are delightful. It’s not just tiny “things” that I love, I love foods that are served in tiny forms as well. When you serve food in small vessels, it allows you to control the portions, whether it’s for dietary reasons or you need to stretch the portions for a crowd. Enter miniature Black Forest cake trifles.

I have a few favorite French yogurt brands all of which come in reusable clay or glass pots. I love the reusable factor, but I wasn’t sure what to use them for. I was planning to make trifles and was about to hit “order” on some little glass dessert dishes, when I remembered that I had a handful of the yogurt cups stashed in a cabinet. Saving money on the dishes was definitely a plus, but finally upgrading my yogurt pots from dust collectors to something useful was the pièce de résistance.

These miniature trifles, while small, are very striking on the dessert table when served en masse. Serving the trifles individually is also nice when kids are present, because it can be a little tricky having kids dish out of a large trifle. Some yogurt brands sell plastic lids for the yogurt pots on their websites, opening up a lot of possibilities for using the yogurt dishes. With the lids, you can make these trifles ahead of time and keep them in the fridge to go with your lunches. These little desserts travel well in lunch boxes, but if you work at home like me, they’re still a great option because it takes away a lot of guesswork when it comes to lunch. 

This Black Forest gateau looks fancy, it sounds fancy, but it’s so simple and it’s delicious. My version here is not traditional because I used whipped topping instead of whipped cream. The whipped topping gives these Black Forest cakes a longer shelf life AND they can be frozen If you choose to freeze your Black Forest trifles, make sure the yogurt pots can be safely frozen. I used cocktail cherries for a deeper flavor and color. For simplicity’s sake, I used a Devil’s food cake mix that I made the day before constructing my little cakes. Have I ever told you that I like things to be simple? Everything about this Black Forest cake trifle recipe is simple and I hope you will give it a try!