I just wanted to share this recipe that was a ginormous hit over the holidays

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2 oz. red food coloring
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Chocolate Ganache
1/2 cup half and half
1 cups dark chocolate, chopped

Mascarpone Whipped Frosting
8 ounce mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
*If you don’t have mascarpone, sub all cream cheese, so a total of 12 ounces.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans or three 8-inch round cake pans.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.

4. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Yes, it will fizz! Add it to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Divide batter evenly between the cake pans and place them in a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Finish cooling on a wire rack. All the cakes to cool completely before assembling the trifle.

Mascarpone Whipped Frosting
6. In a large bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat cream cheese, mascarpone and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium and slowly pour in whipping cream. Continue whipping until mixture resembles soft whipped cream. This took about 10 minutes. The amount in this recipe wasnt quite enough, so I would add a maybe 1/4C more of each ingredient.

Making Ganashe

7. Pour chocolate pieces in a mixing bowl and set aside. Warm up cream/whole milk in a small saucepan until just boiling. Pour cream over chocolate and wisk until smooth. You can add a shot or two of spiced rum to make it more interesting, if so desired.

Trifle Assembly
1. Arrange a single layer of red velvet cake chunks on the bottom of the trifle dish. Spoon about 1/3 of the ganache on top of the cake cubes, then spoon about 1/3 of the mascarpone frosting onto the ganache. Sprinkle the frosting with mini chocolate chips. Repeat layers until you run out of room in your dish (which took 3 layers for me).

 I garnished with some crumbled red velvet cake and a little sprinkling of mini chocolate chips and a splattering of ganashe.The result is the above pic!

Enjoy!!

sounds yummy! 

Gotta say I don't get this whole red velvet thing.  It's a cocoa cake with a bottle of food coloring.  I prefer devil's food.

Kahlua Trifle

2 layers of devil's food cake

chocolate pudding

Heath Bar or Skor Toffee Bits

Kahlua

real whipped cream

Split cakes into 2 layers each.

In punch bowl, put cake, sprinkle with Kahlua, dollop on pudding, sprinkle with Heath bits, dollop on whipped cream.  Repeat until you have no room in the punch bowl or supplies run out, reserving some Heath bits to sprinkly on the last layer of whipped cream.  Now that's a trifle.

There is vinegar and baking soda added, so not a tried and true cocoa cake. Plus the colors worked for the Holidays :)

My stepson likes the brownie with chocolate pudding and whipped cream layered trifle.

Always wanted to try the red velvet cake, but something wouldn't let me "waste" a whole bottle of red food coloring in it!  Funny the ingredients we will think nothing of using (4 - 6 eggs), and yet the idea of pouring a whole bottle of the food coloring in it, seemed too wasteful to me.  It looks delicious tho, and you're right, Jeepers, perfect for the holidays.  When I first started working a co-worker brought in the recipe for what she called, "Sex in a Bowl" - - meaning it was as good as having sex!  Was the usual choc cake, pudding, cream, heath bars, but it was the first time any of us had had it, and for the next couple of years we were all making it for our own personal holiday parties!

Funny enough, I actually only used about .08 oz of food coloring. You can add a little water instead so your not using the a large bottle of it. I thought I had more food coloring, but ended up only having one of those little bottles in the 4 pack (if that makes it seem less wasteful :)). This was my first trifle, so I am going to have to do more experiments. That chocolate cake with pudding, does sound yummy!

I made another trifle that was so yummy one guest had 6 helpings.  Yes, it was something else...

Yellow cake

slightly warmed caramel or butterscotch ice cream sauce

instant vanilla pudding

Apple pie filling

whipped cream

pecans or heath bar bits or something else for a bit of crunch. 

Make at least two layers of this in large glass or punch bowl.

I was just going thinking what to dessert to bring to G.T.'s for Easter.  The one you just posted sounds delicious, Hats.  Only question, "warm the caramel of butterscotch ice cream sauce slightly" -- does it then get hard or stick to your teeth consistency?

Another question:  How many cans of apple pie filling - jars of butterscotch sauce - pkgs. of vanilla pudding, did it take to fill the trifle bowl?

I used 2 cans of filling and 2 boxes of pudding, one 11.75 ounce jar of caramel topping and a standard 2 layer cake mix cake - and it was busting out of the bowl -  but of course it depends on the size of the bowl.  I have an old fashioned 'dessert set' that I used - I have two of those sets, which have a large bowl and a set of identical small dishes to serve the individual portions in.  I don't think I have ever used more than two boxes of pudding - made with the pudding directions - even when I used a punch bowl. 

Of course, as long as you put in enough whipped cream (and I only use the real thing which is probably why my desserts go over so well) everyone is going to love it.

Thanks.  I don't have a trifle bowl, but I saw them at CTS just last week.  I'll have to pick one up.  I do have a huge goblet type container, but it narrows at the top.  Tip beflore I even make it, from making other desserts using the instant vanilla pudding, I always buy the French vanilla.  It has a richer taste, just as the ice cream does.

thanks!

BTW I saw in a magazine yesterday a picture of a red velvet cake made with green food coloring instead of red.  Would be great for a St Patrick's Party or even Easter!

I did make another to my stepson's delite. Brownies, chocolate pudding with caramel and toffee chips. Its amazing that I never saw these around growing up. What a great way to just throw a bunch of yumminess into a bowl and scoop out to eat.

My son loved the red velvet trifle; he is his mothers son ;)