This Hairy Bikers black forest trifle from British Classics layers homemade chocolate custard over Kirsch-soaked brownies, black cherries, and amaretti biscuits. It serves 8 at around 1,060 calories and takes about two hours including the chill, with no baking at all.
The headnote says “chocolate custard, cake and booze, what’s not to like?” and the custard is the reason this works. It uses melted dark chocolate folded into a vanilla pod custard with cocoa powder and cornflour on top, so you get a depth that a plain vanilla custard dyed brown with cocoa cannot touch.
The amaretti biscuits sit between the cherries and the custard, which sounds like a small detail but matters more than you think. They absorb Kirsch from below and chocolate custard from above, and that gives the middle a soft, boozy crunch that no other layer provides.
Hairy Bikers Black Forest Trifle Recipe
Description
Brownies spread with cherry jam and soaked in Kirsch, topped with black cherries and amaretti biscuits, then buried under a thick layer of homemade chocolate custard and softly whipped cream. A trifle worth making from scratch because the custard alone takes this miles past anything from a packet.
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Custard:
For the Trifle:
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate: Put the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the base does not touch the water. Let it melt slowly, then remove and leave to cool while you make the custard base.
- Infuse the milk: Pour the milk and 300ml of cream into a saucepan with the split vanilla pod and heat to just below boiling. Take it off the heat and leave the vanilla to infuse while the mixture cools slightly.
- Make the custard base: Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cocoa powder, and cornflour together with electric beaters until the mixture is pale, thick, and holds its shape when you lift the beaters. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk, pour the warm milk over the egg mixture while stirring, then fold in the melted chocolate and mix thoroughly.
- Cook the custard: Pour everything back into a clean saucepan and cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly for 10 to 20 minutes until the custard thickens to the consistency of thick double cream. Do not let it boil or the eggs will scramble. Transfer to a jug, press cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming, and chill until cold.
- Assemble the trifle: Cut the brownies or cake into thin slices, spread them with the cherry jam, sandwich them together, and arrange in the bottom of a large trifle bowl. Pour the Kirsch or cherry brandy over the cake, then scatter the cherries on top. Lay the amaretti biscuits in an even layer over the cherries, then pour the cold custard over in a thick, even layer.
- Finish and serve: Chill the trifle if you have time, then whip the remaining 500ml of cream to soft peaks and smooth it over the custard. Decorate with chocolate curls and serve cold.
FAQs
Do I have to make the custard from scratch?
The custard is the whole point of this trifle, because melted dark chocolate gets folded into a vanilla pod base with cocoa and cornflour. That combination gives it a thickness and richness that shop-bought custard cannot match, even if you stir cocoa into it.
If the stirring puts you off, make the custard up to two days ahead and keep it covered with cling film in the fridge. It thickens further as it chills, so making it early actually gives a better result than rushing it on the day.
Can I make this without alcohol?
The Kirsch is poured directly onto the cake and never cooks, so the full alcohol stays in every spoonful. For an alcohol-free version, swap it for morello cherry syrup or strong black cherry juice at the same volume.
The Kirsch does more than add booze though, because it softens the brownie layer and helps it absorb the cherry flavour from above. Whatever liquid you use as a substitute needs to be roughly the same amount so the cake gets properly soaked.
What do the amaretti biscuits actually do?
They bring an almond flavour that pairs naturally with the cherries and chocolate, and no other biscuit gives that same combination. Digestives or sponge fingers would soak up the Kirsch but add nothing to the flavour, while amaretti make every layer taste deliberate.
The crunch softens as the trifle sits in the fridge, which is actually what you want because a fully crunchy biscuit would feel wrong against the smooth custard. If you cannot find amaretti, crushed almond biscotti or ratafias work as a substitute.
How do I stop the custard from scrambling?
The recipe says to cook it for 10 to 20 minutes “depending on how high you dare have the heat” which is honest about the risk. Medium heat with constant stirring is the safest approach, because the custard thickens gradually and you can see it happening. The moment it coats the back of a spoon thickly, take it off the heat.
If you see tiny lumps forming, pull the pan off immediately and whisk hard for 30 seconds. Small lumps can be rescued, but a fully scrambled custard cannot. Pour it through a fine sieve into the jug to catch any bits, and nobody will know once it chills.
How far ahead can I make this trifle?
Build the full trifle up to the custard layer a day ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. The overnight rest lets the Kirsch soak into the cake and the amaretti soften to the right texture, so it actually tastes better for the wait.
The tip in the recipe suggests decorating with chocolate-dipped cherries for “an additional touch of festive decadence” which makes this a natural Christmas dessert. If you are making it for Christmas Day, build the layers on Christmas Eve and whip the cream while the turkey rests. The black forest gateau from the Big Book of Baking is the full four-layer cake version if you prefer a centrepiece you can slice.
