Recipe Thursday 04/17/25 ft. Carrot Cake Trifle

Ingredients

Trifle

• Baking spray with flour

• 1 (15.25-oz.) box carrot cake mix

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature

• 3 large eggs, room temperature

• 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts, divided 

• 1/2 cup grated carrots

• 1 (5.1-oz.) package instant vanilla pudding mix

• 3 cups whole milk

• Red food coloring

• Yellow food coloring

• 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 3 cups heavy whipping cream

• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

• 1 (8.8-oz.) package speculoos cookies, such as Biscoff

Candied Carrots: (optional)

• 2 medium carrots, peeled

• 1 cup granulated sugar

Directions

1. For the trifle: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with baking spray with flour. Line the pan with parchment paper and spray again.

   
   

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the cake mix, oil, buttermilk, and eggs until well combined, about 2 minutes. Fold in ¾ cup of chopped walnuts and the carrots. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake according to package directions. The cake should have a few moist crumbs on a toothpick inserted in the center and the edges of the cake should begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.

   
   

3. Cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour. Once cool, cut the cake into 1 1/2-inch pieces.

   
   

4. Meanwhile, prepare the pudding according to package directions using the milk. Add 1 or 2 drops of red food coloring and 1 or 2 drops of yellow food coloring. Mix until the colors are well distributed and continue adding color, 1 drop at a time, until the desired orange color is reached. Chill for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.

   
   

5. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and gradually add the heavy whipping cream and vanilla, beating until the cream is whipped and well combined with the cream cheese, 1 to 2 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides of the bowl.

   
   

6. Fold about 1 cup of the cream mixture into the pudding. Place the speculoos cookies in a zip-top bag and coarsely crush them with a rolling pin. Set aside 1/4 cup of the crushed cookies for topping.

   
   

7. Place a single layer of cake cubes snuggly in a large trifle dish (13 to 16 cubes). Top with half of the pudding mixture, sprinkle with 1/2 of the remaining crushed cookies, and top with half of the whipped cream cheese. Repeat the layers once more. (There may be extra cake cubes; reserve those for another use.) Sprinkle the top with the reserved crushed cookies and the remaining 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts. Decorate with candied carrots, if you like. Serve immediately.

   
   

8. For the candied carrots: Preheat the oven to 225°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

   
   

9. Run a vegetable peeler down the length of the carrots to make long, flat ribbons.

   
   

10. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup of water and the sugar to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the carrot ribbons. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are cooked and slightly translucent, 15 minutes. Strain the carrots from the simple syrup, reserving the syrup for cocktails, if you like.

    
    

11. Lay the carrot ribbons out on the prepared baking sheet, making sure none are touching. Place in the oven and bake until almost dry, 20 to 25 minutes. Working quickly, roll the carrot ribbons around a round wooden spoon handle or a straw to create spirals.