Tuesday 10 July 2012

I am going on a picnic, and I am going to bring.....

This past weekend I attended a family picnic--potluck style. For a salad I brought a deliciously refreshing cucumber and watermelon salad, and for dessert I made a chocolate trifle. Not your usual picnic fare, but I figured that everyone else would be bringing watermelon, cookies and brownies (which they did).
You could easily dumb down this recipe with store bought brownies and Cool Whip, but take the extra few minutes to make everything yourself (minus the pudding). This was so easy to make and looks fantastic, especially if your sister has a pretty trifle bowl that you can borrow.




1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp  baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup  milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup  boiling water
1 pkg  DR.OETKER® Milk Chocolate Mousse
2 cups  whipping cream
white sugar, to taste
1/4 cup  liqueur (Amaretto, Kahlua), optional (I did not use, but it would make it even more fantastic)
4 Skor bars, broken into pieces

Directions:
1. PREHEAT oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour one 8" round (or square) cake pan.
2. SIFT first six dry ingredients into large bowl. Add egg, milk and oil. Beat 2 minutes on medium speed of electric mixer. Stir in boiling water until smooth. Pour into prepared pan.
3. BAKE in centre of 350ºF oven for 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on rack then remove and cool completely. Cut into bite-size pieces. Set aside. Prepare mousse according to package directions. Beat cream to stiff peaks and add sugar to taste.
4. ASSEMBLY: Put half of cake cubes in trifle bowl or large glass serving bowl. Drizzle half the liqueur on top. Spread half the mousse, then half the cream on top. Sprinkle half the chocolate bars over cream. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill 4 hours or overnight.