DIY Cupcake Trifles

It started with a crazy idea: Turn cupcakes, mousse, and whipping cream into a DIY trifle party for Christmas guests.

What? A Trifle Party?

To be honest, I had no idea how it would go. I just knew that my Mint Oreo Trifle was a big hit at Thanksgiving and I envisioned it going over well in individual trifle cups at my writing group’s annual Christmas party. My writing buddies are adventurous and fun, always up for a challenge. And we love to support each other, so I knew they would play along with my crazy out-of-the-box idea.

So, I concocted a plan.

A crazy one, but a plan, nevertheless.

I started by buying some pretty, clear cups, just the right size. Because we’re in holiday mode I settled on ones with a gold rim on top. Pretty, right?

Time to Bake!

Then I baked up the cupcakes. I actually made two different flavors: dark chocolate and Italian cream. For the chocolate I just used a box of Devil’s food cake mix. You’ll find the recipe for the Italian Cream cupcake here.

Next, I made my mousse. You’ll find everything you need to know about my mousse variations here.

Next, I made homemade whipping cream. Basically, just heavy cream with powdered sugar.

Finally, I added some special additions. See the recipes below for specifics.

Finally, the Big Day!

When the big day arrived, I set up the trifle ingredients in some fun, inexpensive bowls I purchased at the dollar store. Hey, go big or go home, right? I put the cupcakes on top, the piping bags with the mousse on one side and the piping bags with the whipping cream on the other. Then I added the “mix-ins” in the bowl in the middle/bottom. I also threw in some syrups. Yum.

When it came time to show the guests how to put together their trifles, I was happy to demonstrate.

I started with the Mint Oreo Trifle.

I had so much fun showing them how to make the Mint Oreo trifle that I decided to demonstrate the Italian Cream Cake one, as well. Check it out!

Yummy, Right?!

I decided to set the guests free to try for themselves. They caught on quickly! (I have great students, don’t I?)

No doubt you’re ready to try your hand at these fun trifles, too. Let’s break it down by flavor, starting with the Mint Oreo trifle recipe, which is sure to please your guests!

What You’ll Need to Make my Mint Oreo Cupcake Trifles:

Cupcakes

• Devils Food or other dark chocolate cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup oil

Mint Cheesecake Mousse Ingredients

• 1 rectangle softened cream cheese
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 box York Peppermint Pudding Mix
• 1 cup milk

Whipped Cream Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup powdered sugar

Other Ingredients

• Mint Oreos (1 sleeve chopped)
• Chocolate syrup

How to Make Mint Oreo Cupcake Trifle

Cupcakes

• (Follow directions on your favorite chocolate cupcake boxed mix.)

Mint Cheesecake Mousse:

• Whip cream cheese until soft. Slowly incorporate whipping cream and beat until combined with cream cheese. Add powdered sugar and York peppermint pudding mix. Continue to mix until it comes to a mousse consistency. It will thicken to a paste-like consistency, so you’ll need to thin it down with the milk. Work in as much (or as little) milk as you please, mixing the whole time. Place in piping bags with 1M tip.

Whipped Cream: 

• Combine cream and powdered sugar. Beat until soft peaks form. Place in piping bags with 1M tip.

It’s time to put it all together! Let’s Make that Mint Oreo Cupcake Trifle, Y’all!

Layer the ingredients in this order in your trifle cups:

• Bottom half of cupcake goes into the cup
• Squirt in Mousse
• Crushed Mint Oreos
• Chocolate syrup (drizzle on as much or as little as you like)
• Whipped cream
• Repeat
• When you get to the top, add more Oreos and chocolate syrup!

Time to Switch Gears, Y’all!

Now let’s make those yummy Italian Cream Cake trifles. They’re a crowd pleaser, for sure, especially for those who love coconut and pecans. (Yum!)

What You’ll Need to Make my Italian Cream Cake Trifles:

Italian Cream Cake Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1 white (or yellow) cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil 
• 1 cup water 
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup sweetened coconut (flakes)
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 1/2 small box instant vanilla pudding (powder)

Cheesecake Mousse Ingredients:

• 1 rectangle softened cream cheese
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 box Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix (or cheesecake pudding mix)
• 1 cup milk

Whipped Cream Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup powdered sugar

Other Ingredients

• chopped pecans
• toasted coconut
• caramel syrup

How to Make Italian Cream Cake Trifle:

Cupcakes:

• Combine all ingredients except nuts and coconut. Mix well.
• Work in the nuts and coconut. 
• Scoop into lined cupcake tins and bake at 350 for 16 minutes or until golden.

Cheesecake Mousse:

• Whip cream cheese until soft. Slowly incorporate whipping cream and beat until combined with cream cheese. Add powdered sugar and York peppermint pudding mix. Continue to mix until it comes to a mousse consistency. It will thicken to a paste-like consistency, so you’ll need to thin it down with the milk. Work in as much (or as little) milk as you please, mixing the whole time. Place in piping bags with 1M tip.

Whipped Cream: 

• Combine cream and powdered sugar. Beat until soft peaks form. Place in piping bags with 1M tip.

Layer the ingredients in this order in your trifle cups:

• Bottom half of cupcake goes into the cup
• Squirt in Mousse
• Coconut and pecans mixture
• Caramel syrup (drizzle on as much or as little as you like)
• Whipped cream
• Repeat
• When you get to the top, add more coconut and pecans mixture and caramel syrup!

And there you have it, friends! Lots of fun options here! If you want more ideas for trifle flavors, check out my post on Cheesecake Mousse variations. No doubt your head will be spinning with ideas! Here are a few I plan to try:

• Carrot Cake Trifles (with cream cheese mousse and chopped pecans)
• Strawberry-Lemonade Trifles (Lemon cupcakes with strawberry mousse and chopped berries)
• Reeses Trifles (with chocolate cupcakes, peanut butter mousse and Reeses chips)
• Margarita Trifles (coconut cake with margarita mousse and toasted coconut)

Enjoy, y’all! (And feel free to leave comments with more trifle ideas!)

Oh, one last thing! If you love to stack trifle ingredients you’re really going to have a blast stacking layers of cake into tiers. Learn more about that process at my How to Tier a Cake post.

If you love sweet treats, check out the fun offerings at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage!

One more thing! Check out Weekend Potluck, y’all!

I’m super excited to announce that my DIY Cupcake Trifle was featured at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage!

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About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.