Nine years ago a magazine featured an article about trifles for the holidays. Not one of the recipes was inspired by Chanukah. I felt Chanukah was made for this type of dish, with its jelly donuts and gelt! So that was the year my family started our own Jelly Donut Trifle Bar, and we have continued to make them every year!
If you watched the show “Friends,” you know that a trifle is traditionally a layered dessert filled with sweet things such as cake, pudding, jam and whipped cream. It never involves beef or peas, much to that Rachel’s dismay!
Trifle lends itself well to letting everyone make their own dessert, since they get to choose what they do and do not want to include.
Ingredients
Jelly donuts cut into pieces, or jelly donut holes
Chocolate or vanilla pudding or custard
Strawberry or raspberry jam (optional)
Sliced or whole berries
Whipped cream
Toppings such as chocolate gelt, nuts, sprinkles or chocolate chips
Directions
Lay out all of the ingredients in different bowls. Give everyone their own small bowl. Glass bowls work well, but any kind is fine. Begin layering the ingredients of your choice, starting with donuts and continuing with fruit, pudding, whipped cream and toppings. Feel free to add more jam to the donut layer or somewhere else along the way. Although traditionally a large trifle would sit for a while, these are fun to eat right away!
