Twinkie Trifle - A Completely Silly Bit of Foodie Fun

I needed a dessert that went together quickly, where most of the prep could be done in advance, and would still appeal to a variety of eaters.

So I decided to revisit a dessert I did years ago, with a slightly different take:  a Twinkie Trifle.

Let's first define what an English trifle is:  "a traditional English layered dessert featuring sponge cake or ladyfingers soaked in sherry or fruit juice, layered with custard, fruit (fresh or jelly), and topped with whipped cream, often garnished with nuts or cherries."

My American trifle used the iconic Twinkie, that golden sponge cake filled with a white cream center.

Picture courtesy of Wikipedia.

I bought a big box with 16 Twinkies in it, individually wrapped.  That was one prep step completed.

For a custard, I bought a big box of instant pudding; the flavor was chocolate fudge.  I mixed it with milk the day before I needed the dessert so it had time to set up in the refrigerator.  I used just a little less milk than the recipe called for to make sure it was thick.

I used fresh strawberries, sliced and lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar.  Again, I did this the day before the gathering.  The next day, the berries had released a lot juice, which was my goal.

Also the day before, I whipped heavy whipping cream with just a little bit of powdered sugar.

So all the prep was done, and just before I needed the dessert, I assembled it in a glass serving bowl.

The layers were:  Twinkies, pudding, strawberries, repeat all.  Then I spooned the whipped cream over the top and sprinkled sliced almonds.  The shape tilted inward, so I didn't fill the entire bowl as that would have been too much.

Pictures!

Bottom layer.

Pudding layer.

Fruit and whipped cream on top.  Did I forget to take a picture of just the fruit layer???

Nutty.

Notice that the second layer of Twinkies were broken up into smaller pieces than the first layer had them.

Some of my guest tasters don't consume alcohol, so I didn't sprinkle the Twinkies with anything.  

Once it was assembled, I served it up.

The Verdict

Despite my best efforts, it was pretty sweet.  It was fun to look at, brought laughter at the table because I used Twinkies, and we all tried it.

I liked it, especially with the strawberries.  The nuts were a nice touch, adding a crunch to an otherwise soft dessert.  Some of my guest tasters enjoyed it, too, although we were already pretty full from the preceeding dinner.

Success!

However, there were leftovers, which were so much better the next day.  I believe that the liquid from the fruit had soaked into the Twinkies overnight.  This seemed to even out the sweetness factor, making the entire dessert much better and appealing.  Success again!

Years ago, I made this with milk chocolate pudding and canned cherries.  I cooked the juice the cherries were in to thicken it with cornstarch and added a little sugar and orange liqueur.  Once that cooled, I put the cherries back into the juice.  I also sprinkled the Twinkies with a little orange liqueur.  I think I put some powdered ginger in the whipped cream, too.  That was also a fun and tasty dessert.

You can see this is a playful dessert that you can adjust to suit your tastes and preferences.  Use the concept of an English trifle to guide your choices.  Let me know what you did!