My Mom made a “church social” type of dessert that she called a “4 layer dessert”.  It was made and served in a 13″ by 9″ pan.  It had 4 layers starting with a butter-pecan crust, followed by a cream cheese layer, chocolate pudding layer, and finally a whipped cream layer.  It was topped with chopped pecans.  I really liked the flavors of the butter pecan crust, layers of creamy and chocolate all together – but it wasn’t really anything to look at.  In fact you couldn’t even see the layers until you cut into it!  I thought it could look so much prettier if it was prepared as individual trifles in serving glasses.  I have some stemless wine glasses that were perfect for this idea, and would allow the layers to be the stunning focus of what could be – an elegant dessert!

For the look of a trifle, the chocolate pudding layer was a “no go”.  I tried it and found that after a few hours in the refrigerator, the pudding began to drip down into the cream cheese layer below.  It was apparently a bit too wet to hold it’s own, and since it could be seen through the glass, this was not going to work.  So…. time to improvise!  I thought that a chocolate mousse layer would hold up better – and it does!  I’m calling these elegant individual desserts Creamy Chocolate Mousse Trifles.  They have all the flavors of my Mom’s original dessert, but now have that “wow-factor” I envisioned!

Cream Chocolate Mousse Trifles (recipe makes 6 servings)

You will need:

1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks room temp butter
1 c chopped pecans
1 8oz pkg cream cheese, room temp
1 c confectioner’s sugar
2 8oz containers cool whip
2 pkgs chocolate mousse
chopped chocolate, or chocolate curls for garnish

1.  Butter pecan crust layer:

Blend flour and butter in a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment.  Add chopped nuts, and blend into a dough.  Spread dough into the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan, and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 min, til lightly brown around the edges.  Cool completely.  This is enough crust for 12 serving glasses – so I froze 1/2 of this.

2.  Cream cheese layer:  1 8oz cream cheese, room temp.  1 c confectioner’s sugar, 8 oz container cool whip.

Combine cream cheese and sugar, blend til smooth using a stand mixer and paddle attachment.  Add cool whip, and blend just til combined.  Refrigerate for about 20 min.

3.  Chocolate mousse layer:  I purchased 2 boxes of instant chocolate mousse mix by Dr. Oetker, and mixed them together per package instructions.  You can use any brand of mousse you like, or make it from scratch!  I chilled this for about 20 min.  (the original recipe called for 1 sm pkg vanilla pudding, and 1 sm pkg chocolate pudding, mixed with 3 c milk).

4.  The final layer is made using another 8 oz container of cool whip.

To put this all together, start with 6 serving glasses.  Cut the crust layer in 1/2, and roughly crumble it, placing it evenly into the bottom of the 6 glasses using a spoon.  Roughly crumble the other 1/2, and freeze it to use for another batch.

Top the crust layer with the cream cheese mixture.  Place this into a piping bag with your desired large tip.  Pipe in a swirl pattern, touching the edges of the glass, and covering the crust layer.

Next, pipe the chocolate mousse over the cream cheese layer.  Use another piping bag, and another tip.

Finally, pipe on the remaining cool whip, again using a piping bag and tip.  Sprinkle the trifles with some chopped chocolate, or chocolate curls.  Refrigerate for up to 5 days, covered with plastic wrap.

And there you have it – Creamy Chocolate Mousse Trifles.  Just wait, the best part is at the bottom of the glass!