Monday's Menu:

Print the Paleo Dark Chocolate & Strawberry Trifle recipe here!

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you had a nice weekend. Did you whip up any interesting recipes? I'm excited to share this Paleo dessert recipe with you because it.was.out.of.this.world rich and delectable, but you'll have to bear with me in my story and commentary. I'll try to keep it brief...I promise.

I started off with the grand idea that I would make a Paleo tart because I had seen pictures of pretty tarts. After looking at several recipes for Paleo tart crust, I figured that I was bright enough to multiply this recipe for 5 personal sized tart crusts by two to make one large round tart (approximately 9.5"). I rushed out to purchase a tart pan and the quantity worked excellently. This was my first time making a tart crust, it tasted heavenly even pre-baked, and I had a small amount left over after filling up the tart pan.

I baked the crust for 23 minutes instead of the instructed 15 minutes because the 15 minutes were for five mini tarts. I was worried about drying it out or being too tough, so I took it out of the oven. I let it cool down for over an hour. It looked wonderful and I was so pleased with myself that I could have patted myself on the back until...

Yep. It wasn't baked long enough. Or it was too thick. Or I should have greased the non-stick tart pan. I don't know. The sides flattened out quicker than I could get it out of the pan and the bottom stuck a little. Darn it. =/ So much for my tart. I had already made the chocolate filling and was determined not to let these expensive, Paleo ingredients go to waste. So...enter in the trusty trifle dessert! I crumbled up the tart crust as layers in the trifle.

A trifle - always a great back up for salvaging baking mishaps. Note to you all, buy a trifle dish if you don't have one already. I've always loved a pretty trifle, you can make any kind of layered dessert that your heart and taste buds can imagine, and you can serve salads and sides in it. Win-win-win.

Moving on...

The menu (Paleo friendly): dark chocolate & strawberry trifle (with tart crust crumbles!)

Shopping List:

For the crust crumbles:

3 cups almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp baking soda
8 tbsp ghee
8 tbsp maple syrup
4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
hefty pinch of salt

For the dark chocolate pudding:

4 eggs
1/2 cup honey
4 tbsp coconut sugar (optional)
2 tsp instant espresso powder
2 tsp organic vanilla extract
8 OZ unsweetened bakers chocolate (look for Paleo ingredients or use Enjoy Life)
1 1/2 cup coconut milk, full fat

For the topping:

2 cans full fat coconut milk, chilled overnight if possible
1 pint strawberries, or fruit of choice
mint leaves for decorating (optional)

Instructions:

For the crust crumbles layer: Preheat oven to 325* F. Add all ingredients for the crust into a large mixing bowl and blend well using a hand mixer. You may also add this to a food processor to blend into a dough. Press the dough into a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom, greasing it prior as needed. You may also add the dough to a pie pan to bake since the crust will be crumbled up. Bake for 23-25 minutes. Allow the crust to cool completely (approximately 30 minutes) before crumbling with your hands or by pulsing in a food processor.

For the dark chocolate pudding: Add all of the ingredients except for the coconut milk into a medium or large mixing bowl. Blend until smooth using a hand mixer. Heat the coconut milk until hot, but not boiling. I heated mine in the microwave.

Slowly pour the hot coconut milk into the mixing bowl as you blend the ingredients together. Blend until the pudding mixture is smooth and thick. Refrigerate the pudding mixture for two hours before assembling the trifle.

For the topping: Scoop out the thickened coconut cream from the top of the cans of coconut milk, leaving the water in the can. Using a hand mixer, whip the coconut cream until smooth peaks form. Keep chilled until assembling the trifle.

Wash the strawberries (or fruit of choice) and cut into halves, cutting the larger ones into quarters, removing the stems.

Assembling the trifle: Begin layering the trifle in a trifle dish with a thick layer of the crust crumbles, then a layer of the chocolate pudding, then a layer of strawberries. Repeat the layers until you either run out of ingredients or reach the top of the trifle dish.

Top the trifle with a layer of whipped coconut cream and assemble the strawberries into a pile on top of the mint leaves (for decoration).

**Option - instead of preparing the tart/pie crust like I did, you can substitute in pre-made Paleo cookies by crumbling them up or by making a Paleo cake and crumbling it up for that layer.

The end result? So my tart dream may have failed (this time), but this dessert was DIVINE. And I mean, D-I-V-I-N-E. The chocolate pudding should rightfully be a dessert of it's own and can be if you served it in single bowls with some berries on top, or even adding some crushed cookies beneath it. It is super rich and chocolaty. The combination of flavors were a major hit with the six of us that tried it. I tried my best to send the leftovers home with everyone so that I wouldn't find myself sitting on the kitchen floor spooning this out of the trifle dish in a decadent, chocolate daze. It will most definitely be made again!

Fun facts: https://paleoleap.com/paleo-guide-chocolate/

I hope you enjoyed this dessert recipe post! I'm sorry it was longer than usual but I felt I should share the comical failure that was my tart crust and how the trifle came to be. Have you been baking or cooking anything new lately? I'd love to know about it to get ideas. =}

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Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead!

XOXO

Every Piece Fits