Brownie Trifle with Raspberry Sauce- Two Ways

I've made this trifle numerous ways with many variations, but first I'll give the standard recipe. Dani, I used the lazy-way on the one you tasted, and I layered individual trifles in the chocolate cups instead of spooning it up from a large bowl.

Benefits to making it from scratch:
healthier
yummier

Benefits to making it the lazy way:
faster
the whipped topping is more stable than real whipped cream, even though it doesn't taste a quarter as nice and clogs your heart in unnatural ways...

The flavor of Brownie Trifle improves the next day, if you can believe it.

MOSTLY FROM SCRATCH BROWNIE TRIFLE

Fudge Brownies:
1 cup + 3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup baking cocoa
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
*chocolate chips, if desired

Melt butter in a saucepan and remove from heat. Stir in cocoa. Cool. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to the egg mixture. Stir in vanilla and the cooled chocolate mixture; mix well. Spread into a greased 13x9" pan. If desired, sprinkle 1-2 cups chocolate chips on top and then bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 28 minutes or until a toothpck inserted near the center comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake.

Trifle Cream:
Stir together 2 boxes of vanilla pudding mix with 2 cups milk. Set aside in refrigerator. You can make the equivalent amount of homemade pudding if you've got the time or energy.

Whip as much heavy cream to stiff peaks as you'd like in the pudding (using about 1/2 to 1 pint of heavy cream), sweetening with sugar to taste. Reserve enough whipped cream to use as the top layer and carefully fold the remaining whipped cream into the pudding until combined. Set aside in refrigerator.

Raspberry Sauce:
1 bag frozen raspberries or several cups fresh raspberries
sugar, to taste
about one tablespoon corn starch dissolved in a tiny amount of water.
Puree the berries (if using frozen, you can just smush with spoon), place in small saucepan, and add the sugar and corn starch. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves and the sauce thickens.
NOTE: If you want to be proper, the pureed or smushed berries should be strained to remove the seeds BEFORE you put them into the saucepan, but I've always just left them in. Cool and refrigerate.

Cut brownies into generous-sized bite-size pieces and layer on the bottom of a large bowl. Alternately layer whipped cream mixture and brownie mixture until they're used up or you reach the top of the bowl. Top with a layer of freshly whipped cream. Garnish with reserved brownie crumbs and/or chocolate chips and/or fresh raspberries.


MOSTLY FROM BOXES BROWNIE TRIFLE

Lazy Brownies
one box Aldi fudge brownies
one bag chocolate chips

Prepare batter as directed, only before baking, sprinkle an entire bag of chocolate chips on top.

Lazy Trifle Cream
2 boxes of vanilla pudding, prepared as above with two cups milk
2 tubs of whipped topping (fold 1 and 1/2 tubs into the pudding and reserve half of one tub for the top layer of the trifle)

Lazy Raspberry Sauce
Prepare as above, because it's already fast and easy.